2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Indau (lat. Eruca) - an annual or biennial plant of the Cruciferous family, or Cabbage. Another name for eruk. The homeland of the Indau is considered to be the countries of the Western Mediterranean, or rather Algeria and southern Spain. Also, in nature, the plant is found in the Caucasus, in the southwestern and southern regions of the European part of Russia, in the Crimea, Central Asia and India. Currently, Indau is widely cultivated in Southern Europe, Western Asia and partly in Northern India.
Characteristics of culture
Indau, or eruka, is a herbaceous plant with a branched stem 40-80 cm high. The leaves are large, lyre-shaped, pinnately dissected, have 2-4 pairs of obtuse lateral segments and one long terminal one. The flowers are white with purple veins. Sepals obovate or obovate wedge-shaped, gray-yellow or whitish, often notched. Pedicels are thick, pressed against the stem.
The fruit is a short, oblong or oval-oblong pod with strong convex valves, slightly compressed, not tuberous, 2-3 cm long. Seeds are oval or spherical, sometimes compressed. Indau is a heat-loving culture, cold-resistant and undemanding to growing conditions.
Growing conditions
Soils for growing Indau are preferred fertile, with a neutral or slightly acidic pH reaction. Vegetable crops are the best predecessors, with the exception of cruciferous plants. Indau is a light-loving plant that develops well in intensely lit areas. The rest of the culture is not whimsical.
Soil preparation and sowing
The soil for growing Indau is prepared immediately after harvesting the predecessor. First, peeling is carried out, which provides crushing of residues and cutting off vegetative weeds, then deep plowing and top dressing with organic fertilizers. In the spring, the ridges are harrowed and complex mineral fertilizers are applied.
Seeds are sown at several times: the first time - in early spring, the second - in early July, the third - in early August. You can also sow a crop every 10-15 days. Sowing is carried out in an ordinary way. The distance between the rows should be 30-40 cm, between the plants - 7-10 cm. The seeding depth is 0.5-1 cm. Seedlings appear in 3-6 days. Indau can also be grown in nurseries and greenhouses as a compactor of another crop.
The first greens can be harvested 2-2, 5 weeks after germination. Most of the harvest is cut off at the time of the appearance of the first flowering shoots, after harvesting should not be carried out, since the greens will not have a very pleasant taste.
Care
Caring for the Indau is not difficult: you need to regularly remove weeds, loosen the aisles, water and, if necessary, thin out the plants. Thickening should not be allowed, since the quality of greens is significantly reduced. Abundant watering is carried out in conditions of prolonged drought, during the formation of a rosette and tying a pod with seeds.
Very often, the Indau is affected by various pests. Cruciferous fleas are the most dangerous for culture. To combat them, the use of pesticides is not recommended; it is better to give preference to various herbal infusions and herbal remedies. Indau responds well to top dressing; ammonium nitrate, potassium salt and superphosphate are added to the steming phase.
