Carrot

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 15:51

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Latin name: Daucus Family: Umbrella Categories: Vegetable crops

Carrot (lat. Daucus) Is a popular vegetable crop, a biennial plant with a rough, woody orange or yellowish-white root.

Characteristics of culture

Carrots are a plant that forms a root crop and a rosette of leaves in the first year, and a seed bush and seeds in the second year. The root crop is spindle-shaped, oval, cylindrical or truncated-conical, fleshy, thickened, weighing from 30 to 300 g, formed due to deposits of nutrients, inside there is a core, the diameter of which does not exceed 30-40% of the total thickness. The root system is pivotal, fast-growing, the roots reach a depth of 1.5-2 m, the bulk of which is at a depth of 50-60 cm.

Carrot leaves of the first year of life are collected in a rosette, can be dissected-pinnate, triangular, pubescent or naked. The leaves of the second year are located on petioles, which expand at the stem. Inflorescences are presented in the form of complex umbrellas, multi-ray, during flowering - flat or convex, over time - compressed. The petals are ovoid, white, cream, pink or purple in color.

The fruit is a two-seed, usually oval or oblong in shape, slightly compressed on the reverse side, on the ribs they have two rows of sharp bristles or subulate spines. The most valuable seeds are those collected from central umbrellas.

Growing conditions

Carrots are cold-resistant plants, the optimum temperature for seed germination is 8-10C, however, at higher air temperatures, seedlings appear faster. The culture can withstand frosts down to -4 C. The plant is quite demanding on sunlight, it does not tolerate shaded areas. The thickening of the plantings negatively affects the growth and development, especially in the first phase, the plants stretch out, the yield and vitamin value significantly decrease.

Carrots are relatively drought-resistant, the presence of essential oils in the leaves prevents excessive evaporation of moisture. Requires abundant watering during seed germination and the first phase of growth. Irrigation and timely watering significantly affect the quantity and quality of the crop. Abrupt transitions from dryness to humidity negatively affect the quality of root crops.

The soil for growing crops should be sufficiently loose, light loamy or sandy loam with a high humus content, neutral or slightly acidic pH. Clay and heavy loamy, structureless or acidic soils are not suitable. The ideal precursors for carrots are legumes, cabbage, early potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. It is not recommended to plant the crop after plants such as parsley, dill, celery or parsnips.

Landing

Before starting sowing, the seeds are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. To accelerate germination, the seeds are placed on a wet piece of cloth, wrapped and kept for several days at a temperature of 20-22C. Care should be taken to keep the gauze wet all the time, otherwise the seeds will not hatch.

Before planting in open ground, shallow grooves are dug in the garden bed, the optimal planting depth is 2-3 cm. The distance between the grooves should be at least 15-20 cm. After sowing, the seeds are covered with a layer of soil and watered abundantly.

Care

Carrots require regular weeding. Weeds have a detrimental effect on the development of culture, especially in the early stages of growth. Therefore, they are eliminated immediately after their appearance, removing them together with the root. Compacted soil is also undesirable, it provokes the curvature of root crops, in order to avoid this, it is recommended to loosen.

With the emergence of seedlings, the carrots are thinned, the distance between the plants should be about 3-4 cm. If the seeds were sown sparsely, there is no need for thinning. Water the culture daily, the lack of moisture will affect the taste of root crops.

Carrots also need feeding. The first feeding is carried out 3-4 weeks after germination, the second - after 1, 5-2 months. As a fertilizer, you can use: nitrophosphate, wood ash, potassium nitrate, superphosphate and urea.

Pest and disease control is essential for a good crop yield. The main enemy of root crops is the carrot fly, most often this pest appears on thickened plantings and overly moist ridges. To combat carrot fly, Actellic, Intavir or other chemicals should be used. Less often, the culture is exposed to diseases such as phomosis or alternaria; for prophylactic treatments, a 1% solution of Bordeaux liquid can be used.