Mustard seeds: a description of industrial varieties, application in agriculture, cultivation

Mustard - vegetable culture, belonging to the family Cruciferae. There are several dozen species of this plant, however only three varieties are used as spices - white, black and brown.

Mustard white (White Mustard, Latin Sinapsis alba) is common in North America and Europe. The plant is annual, low (60 cm). Mustard seeds of this variety are very light, with a hint of honey, moderately sharp. Brown mustard (or Sareptic, Latin Brassica juncea, English Brown Mustard) by popularity was ahead of both white and black. Moderately sharp. Mustard seeds - 2 mm in diameter, round, brown or brown. The native land of the plant is the Himalayas, although it is cultivated mainly in India. Russia "became acquainted" with brown mustard in the XVIII century. Thanks to the Germans, invited by Catherine II to explore the south of Russia. Among the first settlers was the missionary, doctor and translator Konrad Neitz. It was with his "light hand" that the mustard hit the king's table.

Brown mustard is now sold as a powder and as a regular dining room in almost every grocery store. Mustard black (Black Mustard, Latin Brassica nigra), also called French, has a rather long stem up to a meter. Boxes with seeds open immediately after ripening, which makes cleaning extremely difficult. It is grown mainly in South Asia. The seeds of black mustard are the sharpest, but also the most fragrant of the cultivated varieties. The plant has been valued since antiquity both as a medicinal and as a culinary plant. Unique properties of mustard are due to the substances contained in it, incl. Minerals (calcium, copper, manganese, selenium, iron, zinc), phytohormones, vitamins, antioxidants. Mustard seeds are a real storehouse of energy and dietary fiber, which is very important for those who suffer from excess cholesterol, which is controlled by niacin (vitamin B3). Fruits contain flavonoids (antioxidants), lutein, zeaxanthin, carotene and a variety of vitamins that fight free radicals (K, E, C, A), as well as sterols (sitosterol, campesterol, avenasterol, stigmasterol, brassicasterol), mirosin, sinigrin, acids (Eicosenoid, erucic, palmitic, oleic).

The demand for mustard seeds is increasing every year. The plant is profitable to grow both for sale and for own consumption.

Sowing mustard seeds helps to revitalize the soil, increase fertility, destroy pathogens of diseases such as late blight, fusariosis, scab and others. Do not like mustard wireworm, slug, bear, pea fruit moth. Sowing crops without exaggeration allows to refuse further from a lot of fertilizers, which is beneficial both for ordinary truck farmers, and for solid farms and farmers, because natural soil improvement can not be replaced with drugs created on a chemical basis. Sowing mustard seeds restores the balance of soil by natural means, which is really important. The plant soon germinates and is able to rapidly build up mass even in the cold period.

Especially effective is mustard when combined with legumes (alternating through a row). It is siderat, excellent loosening, structuring, draining soil and increasing air capacity. The root system of the plant can penetrate up to three meters deep. This quality made it possible to recognize mustard as a culture that protects the soil from erosion in the autumn and spring (and if left unchanged, then in winter). It perfectly retards the snow, contributing to the accumulation of moisture and reducing the freezing of soils. In the steppes, where the winds are stronger and more frequent, the plant is sown among the winter crops (rows).

As a forage culture, mustard is used as a green mass. Its value is close to feed.

It is better to sow mustard seeds on soils treated earlier, fertilized (the plant "reprocesses" the fertilizer, making it easily digestible for subsequent crops), sod-podzolic and sandy loamy. Seeds germinate already at +1 degrees Celsius, sprouts carry frosts to -5 degrees.

Mustard seeds (the price depends on the variety, on average - about 30 rubles per kilogram) is better to buy in specialized stores.