Predecessors of peas in crop rotation: what to plant next year

Predecessors to peas

To achieve stable yields, you must follow the rules of crop rotation: you can return plants to the same area only after 5–6 years. Otherwise, the risk of crop damage by harmful insects and pathogenic bacteria increases. Excellent precursors for peas are winter and spring grains, as well as potatoes, sugar beets and corn. After peas, it is recommended to plant industrial and grain crops.

What to plant next year after peas, the best predecessors in crop rotation

Growing a large and permanent crop in one area is possible only if agrotechnical techniques and nuances are observed. One of them is the correct choice of pea predecessors. Like any leguminous crop, it requires individual conditions for the selection of previous plants, careful care and suitable soil and climate conditions.

Peas in crop rotation

To consistently obtain a large harvest, it is important to adhere to the established rules of crop rotation. When growing crops, you need to take into account the condition of the soil, atmospheric conditions and what plants were previously sown on the ground. When choosing locations for peas, important factors are also their low competitiveness to weeds and susceptibility to common diseases characteristic of legumes.

As a percentage, the share of seedlings in crop rotation should be no more than 25%. The frequency of returning the plant to one site varies from 4 to 6 years to prevent the occurrence of root rot. With an increased infectious background, this period increases to 8–10 years. In order to reduce the risk of transferring infectious pathogens and the spread of dangerous insects, experienced gardeners recommend planting pea crops separately from other legumes.

Tillage after peas

Preparing the soil for planting for the season following the legumes is carried out using a fall tillage system. The entire main processing process is divided into the following stages:

1. During the spring-summer period, several layer-by-layer cultivations with harrowing are required. Final cultivation is carried out to the sowing depth.
2. Provided there is sufficient soil moisture, semi-fallow cultivation of the soil is used.
3. The soil surface is processed with disc implements.
4. The soil is kept loose and periodically cleared of germinating weeds before sowing new crops.
5. Before directly planting the next plants, the soil is disinfected in case of pest development, after which fertilizers suitable for the planned planting are applied.

Fertilizing peas before sowing

Any grain crop needs feeding. Mixtures of mineral and organic fertilizers are added to the soil, which promote the rapid emergence of seedlings and activate the growth of young plants. Acidic soils need liming before planting peas. It is also worth adding sulfur, ammonium sulfate and calcium urea to the ground before sowing.

Nitrogen feeding is worth talking about separately. The peculiarity of this crop is that its yield directly depends on the natural fertility of the soil. Thus, if the soil in the area chosen for planting peas for grain is fertile, saturated with nutrients, has a neutral pH value and normal aeration, then at least a third of what peas need nitrogen will come from the soil. Additionally, nitrogen fertilizers are applied only to increase yields (to obtain more than 30 c/ha). It should be taken into account that when plants receive useful substances from fertilizing, biological nitrogen ceases to be absorbed. It is best to apply nitrogen-containing fertilizers during the flowering period of peas.

The most suitable conditions for growing peas

Although this legume plant is unpretentious, to increase its productivity you need to work hard and create the necessary conditions for normal growth and development in open ground.

Peas in open ground

You need to start by choosing a site where the legume crop will grow. The best place for this plant is well-lit by sunlight, protected from gusts of wind and drafts. Although it grows well and bears fruit in partial shade, abundant pea harvests can only be obtained in beds well illuminated by the sun's rays. It is convenient to grow this vegetable along solid fences and walls of outbuildings (on the south side). It is in these places that the plant is both protected from strong winds and has a support along which it is more convenient to develop.

Interesting! Often gardeners grow peas under fruit trees - apple or pear trees. A fertile substrate is first added to the tree trunk circle - a mixture of garden soil and humus (layer thickness - at least 10 cm).

These vegetable plants love moisture, so peas should be sown only in well-moistened soil. And in the future, the main requirement is to constantly maintain the average moisture of the top layer of soil during the appearance of buds, active flowering and formation of ovaries. If the soil is dry, the inflorescences and ovaries will fall off the vines. It is clear why this happens - the bushes do not have enough moisture for life.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Preparing seeds for sowing involves monitoring the quality of seeds, sorting and treating them with compounds against pests and diseases.

The quality of seed material when growing peas for grain must strictly comply with GOST. The germination of crops and crop yield directly depend on this.

Seed dressing should be carried out 4 weeks before planting using special equipment and the preparations “Tachigaren” or “Fundazol” (dosage 1–2 and 3 kg per ton, respectively).

The administration of sera with infected material should be carried out on the day of sowing, in cloudy weather. In this case, it is prohibited to combine inoculation and dressing. The rate of use per 1 hectare is 200 g.

What is green manure and crop rotation?

In order to annually obtain high yields of vegetables and not accumulate pathogenic microorganisms and “harmful” bugs in the soil, you should know the basic rules of crop rotation. The soil needs rest to restore nutrients. The best rest for the soil is to change annuals in the beds. Such alternation should be carried out taking into account the characteristics of the vegetable plants being grown, so that they do not select the same useful substances from the soil every year.

With a properly designed crop rotation schedule, predecessor plants help ripen a good crop of vegetables grown in the next season. At the same time, the annual change of annuals in the beds allows the soil to replenish those elements that were selected from it in the previous season.

Important! Proper crop rotation and sowing green manure allow you to cultivate a plot for decades without depleting the soil.

Legumes are often used as green manure. Therefore, after plowing them in during the autumn digging, you need to know what to plant after the peas or beans.

Sowing green manure solves a serious problem - green fertilizers get into the soil, complementing the general fertilizing schedule. Green manure plants are sown between rows, around apple, pear, and stone fruit trees, after harvesting in vegetable gardens. Typically, the growth period of such crops is 2-3 months (the main thing is to harvest or plow them before the seed material ripens).

By plowing such green mass during the autumn digging process, vegetable growers solve several problems at once:

• during the process of decay, plant residues decompose, saturating the soil with various useful substances;
• soil structure improves;
• In such an environment, soil bacteria develop well, which contribute to the processing of fertilizers into their constituent nutritional elements.

Therefore, it is very important to know after which crops legumes can be planted.

Sowing dates, seeding rates, planting depth

Sowing peas for grain begins in early spring. The exact planting time depends on the climatic characteristics of the region. Delay in sowing leads to losses of up to 20% of the harvest.

Grain pea varieties are adapted for early spring planting, when during the day the air warms up to +1...+2 °C, and the temperature at night does not drop below -7 °C. Sowing at a later date reduces plant resistance to pathogenic bacteria. The crop is more often affected by aphids, and weeds manage to take over the area, which ultimately reduces the yield.

Planting is carried out simultaneously with early spring grains using row and narrow-row methods. According to the current technological map for cultivating peas for grain, it is the soil indicators that dictate the depth of planting. The depth of seed placement depends on the soil: light and dry - from 6 to 8 cm (in rare cases - 10 cm), wet and heavy - 5-6 cm. Incorrectly chosen seeding depth reduces the number of seedlings.

The seeding rate depends on the growing region, the selected variety, soil characteristics and other factors affecting yield. On average, 1.1–1.4 million seeds are used for planting per 1 hectare. For arid areas, the seeding rate increases by 20–30%.

Basic rules of crop rotation

Crop rotation means that every 2 years it is necessary to replace the crops grown in one bed. For example, if potatoes grow in a certain area of ​​the garden this year and the previous year, then next year it is necessary to plant, for example, beets, carrots, and onions.

1. Preventing the accumulation of pests and pathogens. That is, if you alternate plants that are affected by different types of parasites, then the insects that have overwintered in the soil will not have anything to eat. In this way, their mass reproduction can be prevented.
2. Preventing the accumulation of toxins. Some plants, when planted frequently in one area, experience reduced yields because they react sensitively to toxins that they themselves leave in the soil during cultivation.
3. Reducing nutrient consumption. Each plant requires certain micro- and macroelements for normal growth and development. If you plant the same crop or related vegetation for many years, the soil will become depleted and will not be able to fully provide the nutrition that is needed.

Caring for pea crops

Care of the plantings at the initial stages is carried out with ring-spur rollers, then the couplings of tooth harrows and boom sprayers are used.

After 4–5 days, it is necessary to carry out pre-emergence harrowing with medium-sized tine harrows to get rid of weeds and prevent their spread throughout the planting area.

In dry weather conditions, the rolling procedure is carried out using ring-spur rollers for better interaction of seeds with the soil and lifting liquid from the underlying layers of the earth.

If peas are planted less than 500 m from perennial grasses, special attention should be paid to treating the crop with insecticides to protect the crops from aphid invasion.

Landing Features

Peas belong to the legume family and are found in almost every country house. Nowadays, gardeners are increasingly planting beans, since they are used in PP recipes, but peas are still left in the beds. This culture improves the quality of the soil and repels pests; our great-grandmothers spoke about this.

The effect of planting on the soil depends on the type of plant. For example, alfalfa or lupine are planted to produce nutritious animal feed. Even if people do not consume the fruits of this plant in fresh, dried or frozen form, they are still planted for its place in crop rotation. Thanks to it, the soil is saturated with organic microelements and changes its structure. Lentils, soybeans, and chickpeas also have a positive effect on the condition of the land.

Legumes are placed on the site for other reasons:

• They contain a lot of protein, so dishes with their addition can replace meat.
• The crop rarely gets sick, and after peas there are no pests left in the ground, so you don’t have to treat the area with sprays.
• Even when using dangerous chemicals, there is no need to worry about the fruits, since toxins and poisons do not accumulate in the green mass.
• You can plant other more capricious crops after legumes; their root system accumulates microelements, thanks to which the earth is saturated with nitrogen.
• If you use green mass to fertilize the surface, potassium and phosphorus will get into the ground.

You can plant almost anything after peas as they prepare the soil and leave nutrients in it, but there are a few exceptions to consider.

Fertilizer application system

The introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers into the soil activates the development of the root system, which increases the number of seedlings and ultimately increases productivity.

Nitrogen consumption is uneven throughout the entire plant development cycle (from seed to grain). Most of the peas receive as a result of symbiosis with soil microflora. Under favorable conditions, additional nitrogen fertilizers will not be required.

When calculating the required amount of fertilizer, you should know that to form 1 ton of seeds, peas need:

• 45–60 kg nitrogen;
• 16–20 kg phosphorus;
• 20–30 kg of potassium;
• 25–30 kg calcium;
• 8–13 kg magnesium.

Soil requirements

Peas provide higher grain yields on light and medium loamy soddy-podzolic soils, as well as on sandy loams underlain by cohesive rocks. It is not recommended to place it on heavy loamy and swampy peat soils. Soil fertility is important for the formation of high pea yields. It is preferable to place it on soils with a humus content of at least 1.8%, acidity in the range of 6.0-6.5, and a content of available phosphorus and exchangeable potassium of at least 150 mg/kg of soil.

Tillage system

The choice of soil cultivation method before cultivating peas for grain depends on the predecessor growing on it, as well as on the number of weeds and harvesting time.

After winter grain crops, it is necessary to peel the stubble in order to crush plant remains and provoke the growth of weeds. If the field is heavily clogged, then after hulling by harrowing, a second one is carried out two weeks later, but with the help of plowshare tools. After 1.5 weeks, the soil is plowed.

In early spring, the soil is cultivated with toothed harrows. The soil is also cultivated to the depth of seed placement (on average 6–8 cm).

Technological scheme for pea cultivation

Harvesting peas

According to the technology of cultivating peas for grain, harvesting begins when the fruits are 90% yellow and the seed moisture coefficient is approximately 12%. Harvesting is carried out using a separate method.

When more than half of the pea pods turn yellow, they are harvested with mowers within a period not exceeding 3–4 days, then losses are minimized. The selection and threshing of windrows is carried out using combines, passing after mowing 2-3 days later.

Pea diseases and their treatment

In summer cottages, peas most often fall ill with the following diseases:

• Powdery mildew appears in the form of a white coating on stems and leaves. The fungus causes the foliage to dry out prematurely. You can fight this disease with the help of colloidal sulfur preparations;
• Pea rust is manifested by the formation of many brown pads of various shapes on the leaves, and then on the stems and pods. Affected leaves dry out. The pathogens overwinter in the soil and on the roots of perennial weeds, especially milkweed. Prevention of the disease consists of pre-sowing treatment of seeds with a formaldehyde solution and thorough weeding of the beds;
• with downy mildew, the spots are not only white, but also yellowish, with a purple or gray coating. Prevention consists of carefully collecting plant residues after the last harvest; if the disease develops, treatment is practically impossible;
• spotting of leaves and pea pods appears as white or brown spots of various shapes with black dots. Then the disease spreads to peas. As a result, the plants die. Treating seed material with formaldehyde almost guarantees the absence of this disease; when it appears, spraying with antifungal drugs can help.

Photo gallery: signs of pea diseases

Ascochyta blight is a common pea disease.

Rust-affected peas dry out

When diseased with downy mildew, peas become covered with spots.

Rules for organizing crop rotation in open ground

1. In order to ensure productivity, the monoculture is planted in the place where it grew only after 3-4 years. The purpose of annual and continuous alternation of plantings is to prepare the soil for the next plant. It is carried out according to the “tops-roots” principle, the superficial root system replaces the deep one, and vice versa.
2. To prevent soil depletion and the accumulation of pathogenic microbes in it, another crop rotation rule is used. After crops susceptible to certain pests, a plant resistant to them is planted. It’s the same with minerals: after vegetables, which consume some nutrients, crops are grown that need other nutrients.

By following these simple rules for alternating plantings, you can achieve not only a high-quality harvest, but also spend less time and effort on caring for and processing the plantings.

Together is better

Many years of experience and ingenuity of gardeners suggested another correct solution - joint planting. This is both convenient and allows you to get a large assortment of vegetables in a small area. However, not all vegetables can be placed in close proximity, since not all crops have a beneficial effect on each other. This is explained by the mutual action of phytoncides and other volatile substances released by plants.

Carrot

can be planted together with peas, marjoram, and onions (this is even useful, since joint planting with onions repels the carrot fly).
Onions
coexist with beets, chicory, and carrots.
Peas and vegetable beans
get along well with potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, pumpkin, melon and watermelon.

It is quite possible to add vegetable beans and sweet corn
to potatoes dill
and corn to cucumbers, radishes will benefit from being next to watercress, and peas to green mustard.

It has been proven that potatoes and beans, garlic and black currants have a beneficial effect on each other. You can make the following bed: plant parsley, lettuce, and sow garlic between them.

As for undesirable proximity, you can’t plant next to

potatoes and cucumbers, white cabbage, strawberries and tomatoes, tomatoes and pumpkin. If legumes are placed next to onions, both crops will be suppressed.

In addition, if space allows, select a small area for growing trasiderates: clover, lupine, alfalfa and others. In this way, you will give the earth a rest and gain strength for growing vegetable crops.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this knowledge. By following the listed rules, you can get a lot!

The annual use of such a technique as crop rotation in the garden beds allows you to avoid diseases of vegetables and grow them strong and productive.

Gardeners know that they cannot plant vegetables of the same group for several years in a row.

For example, if clubroot appears on cabbage, not only will there be no harvest, but you will also have to take a whole range of measures to get rid of such an infection. There’s already a lot of work, and there’s no need for extra problems. They can be easily avoided if you know what to plant next in the garden.

Each vegetable plant has its own pests and diseases. With the help of crop rotation, we fight against those bacteria and viruses that can infect the earth:

• The clubroot fungus (on cabbage) persists in the soil for a very long time, especially if it is acidic. The clubroot fungus is so stable that it can easily overwinter on the post-harvest remains of cabbage. Therefore, it is burned. If infection has occurred, then cabbage and its closest cruciferous relatives can be planted in this bed will be returned only after 7-8 years.
• White rot (fungus) affects carrots, mainly during storage, but carrots could “pick up” it not only due to the incorrect microclimate in the basement, but also due to improper crop rotation: the predecessor of carrots was also a carrier of this fungus.
• Even bactericidal garlic has its own problem: one of the reasons for the yellow tips can be the stem onion nematode, which lives in the ground for 8-10 years and nothing can eradicate it from there...

To avoid contamination of the soil in the garden with similar diseases, it is worth planting the same plant in the same bed only after 4 years. That is, crop rotation must be observed at intervals of 4 years.