The value of oil radish as a honey plant

Oil radish honey plant belongs to the cabbage family. It is cultivated as a fodder crop. Its closest relatives are sowing and wild (field) radish. This honey plant provides a continuous flow of nectar and pollen.

The content of the article

  • 1 Significance in agriculture
    • 1.1 Oilseed
    • 1.2 Field
  • 2 Agrotechnics
  • 3 Honey productivity
  • 4 Useful Properties

Significance in agriculture

Cultivated (sown) forms of radish are edible – thickened root vegetables can be added to salads. The plant is a part of some folk remedies, is used as livestock feed, green fertilizer, and biofuel.

The radish is distinguished by simple pubescent stems, thickened rhizome and small inflorescences that give nectar all summer and autumn.

The value for apiaries is represented by two types of this culture:

  • field (wild);
  • and oilseed.

Oilseed

Oil radish is an annual branched strongly leafy herb with thickening of the stems at the root. There are no root crops. White flowers are collected in a brush – there are always more of them in the center than on the lateral branches of the stems. The seeds ripen in small pods.

oilseed

The duration of flowering depends on the weather, on average it is two to three days. Each individual plant blooms for three weeks, and crops in general for 25-30 days.

An important feature of the oilseed variety is flowering throughout the summer and early autumn. In summer, the inflorescences open early in the morning, at dawn. And in the fall from 9-10 o’clock in the morning.

Field

This wild cultivar is a widespread annual weed that also blooms all summer and sometimes in fall.

field

It has branched stems ranging in height from 30 to 70 centimeters. The flowers are small, light yellow or white. The plant is readily visited by flying bees to collect pollen and nectar.

Agrotechnics

The cultivated variety of honey plants is sown from early spring to early summer. Early sowing time allows to shorten the growing season to 40-50 days. With late planting, the growing season takes longer.

Sowing is carried out in rows with fairly wide row spacings to a depth of 3-4 centimeters. Seedlings are thinned out if necessary. Seed consumption is 2-3 grams per square meter.

The plant belongs to the siderates – its greens can be used to fertilize the soil to increase its fertility. The oilseed variety is unpretentious in agricultural technology: it tolerates heavy clay soils, it is resistant to droughts and lack of irrigation.

Used in mixed crops – take 1 part radish and 6 parts vetch seeds. The sturdier stems of the radish will support the climbing vetch.

Honey productivity

The culture has value due to its long flowering in free-flowing periods, and the release of nectar even in cool autumn weather.

bribes

Oil radish as a honey plant provides up to 45 kilograms of nectar from each hectare of plantations. In a wild species, honey productivity ranges from 15 to 50 kilograms.

The resulting commercial honey is light, with a pleasant taste and delicate herbal aroma. Light yellow pollen.

You can get a high-quality monofloral product when moving apiaries. In stationary hives, the percentage of radish honey will be lower, since the bees will bring nectar, including from other plants.

Crystallizes quickly! For this reason, such honey is not suitable as winter food for bee colonies.

Useful Properties

All parts of the plant, including flowers, pollen and nectar, are saturated with essential oils capable of:

  • relieve headaches;
  • soothe in times of stress and nervous tension.

Radish honey can be safely included in the composition of cosmetic masks for the face, body, hair. It improves the structure of the hair, making it silky, smoothes fine wrinkles on the face.

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Anna Evans

Author ✓ Farmer

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