The article selected a material designed to acquaint you with a unique grain crop, bearing an interesting and unusual name - "triticale."
What kind of plant it is, why triticale is planted and what is the technology of its cultivation, read below.
Triticale - what is it
Triticale is a product of human hands. Long-term experiments of breeders allowed to show the light of the first result of grain crossing - rye and wheat.
Did you know? Title "triticale" formed from two Latin words: triticum - wheat, secale - rye.Experiments on the interbreeding of grains have been conducted since the 80s of the nineteenth century in Germany. The hybrid was bred in 1941 by the scientist-breeder V. Pisarev. It was he who first crossed winter wheat and rye. All other species and varieties were bred already on the basis of this hybrid. Since 1970, triticale began to grow for production purposes.
The uniqueness of this cereal crop is that it surpasses its parent plants in many key characteristics (for example, nutritional value and yield). In terms of resistance to adverse external factors, soil composition, disease and pests, it is an order of magnitude higher than wheat and on par with rye. The average yield of the plant is 33.2 centners per hectare, green mass - 400-500 centners per hectare. 
The stalks of grass grow from 65 to 160 cm. The structure of the ear is similar to wheat - there are more than two grains in it. Narrow, lanceolate spikelet and flowering scales are more like rye. The shape of the grain may be different, and the color - red or white.
Winter triticale has a number of biological features that are different from other grains. The hybrid is characterized by a high protein content - 11-23% (which is 1.5% higher than that of wheat, and 4% higher than that of rye) and amino acids: lysine and tryptophan. 9.5% of the protein nutritional value of triticale grain exceeds that of wheat. The quality of gluten in a hybrid is considered to be lower than in its progenitress.
It will undoubtedly be useful for you to learn more about what fodder beet, sorghum, alfalfa, sainfoin will use as feeding for domestic animals.The advantages of a hybrid of rye and wheat also include:
- large grains;
- high graininess of spikelets;
- unpretentiousness at cultivation;
- frost resistance;
- resistance to powdery mildew, brown rust, hard smut;
- self-pollination
The disadvantages include:
- difficult separation of the wheat from the chaff;
- exposure to root rot and snow mold;
- late maturity
Did you know? It is believed that the best in terms of quality characteristics is bread from a mixture of flour, which includes 70-80% wheat flour and 20-30% triticale flour.As feed, special feed and grain feed varieties triticale, as well as straw, silage of them are used. Varieties of triticale are important because of their importance due to the presence of greater feed value for livestock and poultry than other grains.
The main producers today are such EU countries as Poland (leading in production), France, and Germany. Triticale is also produced in Australia and Belarus. 
Many other states are interested in culture. In terms of agronomic practice, this grain plant is poorly understood.
Main varieties
Triticale is divided into two main types:
- winter;
- spring.
According to the method of application, the following varieties are distinguished:
- cereals;
- feed;
- feed grain.
For a long time of existence of the grass, several varieties of triticale were bred. The most popular among winter crops are: ADP2, ADM4, 5, 8, 11, Zenit Odessa, Amfidiproid 3/5, 15, 42, 52, Kiev Early, Cornet, Papsuevskoe. 
Among spring: "Stork Kharkov", "Krupilsky".
How to plant a plant
The characteristics of planting and growing triticale are similar to the cultivation of other grains. However, there are some nuances.
Growing soil
The plant is not demanding on soils; it can grow on all types of soils, except for loose sand and uncultivated peatlands. However, it will be best to grow in black soil. In soils, consisting mostly of sand or peat, a hybrid is able to produce a richer crop than its parents.
The optimum pH of the soil for grain crops is 5.5-7. Thus, the best for planting triticale are soils with a weakly acid and neutral alkaline reaction. Increasing the pH to 6-6.5 increases the yield of the plant by 14-25%. If the soil is too sour, it must be pre-sowed before sowing. 
The best precursors for triticale will be corn, peas, perennial grasses (non-cereal), early potato varieties. You should not plant the plant after other cereals, especially after rye, barley and winter wheat - this is fraught with the spread of diseases and harmful insects.
Important! Sowing time will vary depending on the region. It is necessary to focus on the period of planting winter wheat in the climatic zone where it is planned to sow triticale.In advance, it is recommended to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers and organic matter in the form of manure to the site. Immediately before sowing, land should be cultivated to a depth of planting.
Tillage for sowing will largely depend on the predecessors, the natural conditions inherent in the area where the plantation of grass is planned, as well as on the degree of prevalence of weeds and their species.
We reveal the subtleties of sowing carrots, peppers, cauliflower, eggplant, parsley, cucumbers.
Seed selection
Under sowing using seeds of high quality with a viability of at least 87%. Seed treatment of seeds includes heating with warm air, dressing with fungicides and insecticides allowed for winter wheat, treatment with microelements and growth regulators. Treatment of diseases carried out no later than 15 days before sowing.
Seeds of winter triticale must pass through the growing season before frost. She is 40-60 days. This means that it is necessary to sow grain in the period from August 25 to September 25. 
Fodder crops
Sowing method - lower case (15 cm) or narrow-line (7.5 cm) grain seeders. The recommended deepening of seeds is 3-4 cm, with a long absence of precipitation and drying of the topsoil - 5-6 cm. Sowing should be done not longer than five days.
The optimum temperature for seed germination is +20 ° C, the minimum is +5 ° C, and the maximum is +35 ° C.
Sprouts should appear within a week after sowing. 
Features of growing
To protect the plant from weeds, ailments and pests, it is necessary to apply agrotechnical and chemical methods in time.
Weed control is carried out by harrowing and the use of herbicides. Such drugs as "Quartz", "Racer", "Cougar" can be used only a couple of days after seeding. In the period of the first three leaflets, in addition to the above funds, use "Super", "Gusar", "Marathon", "Satis". One-year dicotyledonous weeds are fought with the help of "Cowboy", "Lintur".
You will definitely be interested to learn about the cultivation of corn, grain sorghum, millet, buckwheat, oats, sugar beet, spring barley, rye, winter wheat, and rape.
Protection against diseases and pests
When choosing drugs for the treatment of various diseases, it is necessary to focus on the permitted fungicides for winter wheat. The most dangerous for triticale: snow mold, ergot, septoria, root rot. For prophylaxis in the tillering stage, treatments with “Ferazyme” are used, and during the period of going into the tube - “Agat”.
The grass is affected by aphids, thrips, Swedish flies, pyavitsa and other insects. In the phase of two leaves and in the period of booting and earing, spraying is carried out "Dezis-extra", "Fastak", "Senpai", "Sumi-alpha". During the growing season using "Ziperon", "Sharpay". 
Demanding feed dressing
Grass demanding feedings. Doses and types of fertilizers for winter triticale will depend on the fertility of the land, the degree of its humidity, as well as on how high it is planned to harvest.
It is good to bring both organic and mineral fertilizers. It is recommended to feed with nitrogen-, phosphorus- and potassium-containing fertilizers (60 kg / ha) on very fertile soils and at sowing after the best predecessors.
Did you know? If the plant lacks phosphorus, it will reduce tillering and the formation of productive stems. Lack of potassium will affect the frost resistance of the grass.If planting was carried out after the worst predecessors, the recommended rate of fertilizer should be increased to 90 kg / ha.
Phosphorus and potassium are introduced before sowing. Nitrogen - during the growing season. The first dose of nitrogen-containing fertilizers should be no more than 60-70 kg / ha. Carry it out before tillering. The second is carried out in the period of release into the tube. At the same time, it is desirable to introduce foliar fertilizing with micronutrient fertilizers. 
Harvesting
Harvesting is done in a separate way or by direct combining. Separate collection is carried out in the phase of waxy ripeness of grain. Direct combining is carried out in the period of full ripeness. It is impossible to allow the rearrangement of cereal, since this is fraught with breaking off the stems.
Thus, triticale is a new independent species of a cereal plant having similar biological features with rye and wheat. It is predicted that soon the cereal will occupy an important place in the production of feed, feed and food grains. However, it is worth noting that the cereal crop is a product of genetic engineering, whose influence on the human body has not yet been studied.
