1. Переведите следующие предложения на английский язык, используя лексику урока:

1. Чтобы поддерживать плодородность почвы, вместе с минеральными удобрениями следует вносить и органические. 2. Многие факторы влияют на производительность почвы. 3. Удобрения и навоз используются для улучшения определенных свойств почвы. 4. Навоз содержит все важные питательные вещества. 5. В навозе калий содержится в растворенном виде и сразу всасывается почвой. 6. Фосфатные компоненты разлагаются медленнее и поэтому, вместе с навозом, следует вносить неорганические удобрения. 7. Для любого типа почвы удобрение навозом является обязательным. 8. В настоящее время возрастает использование комплексных удобрений.

2. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык, используя лексику урока:

1. Labour costs are considerably lowered by the application of compound fertilizers. 2. The maintenance of high productivity depends on a number of factors 3. The soil must be in the optimum condition for crop growth. 4. It must contain no substances toxic to growth. 5. The micro-flora and micro-fauna must be of a character to ameliorate the general chemical and physical properties of the soil. 6. Organic manures are of great importance in fertilizer practice. 7. As a source of plant food, farmyard manure contains all the important nutrients. 8. The less available portions of the farmyard manure are slowly released and become of value to succeeding crops. 9. Heavy soils can be made easier to work. 10. Heat-absorbing power can be increased by the incorporation of humus.

3. Прочтите текст и озаглавьте его.

Fertilizer must be put into the seedbed, where it will do most good to the young plant as it grows. This is done in two ways: a) fertilizer is spread on the seedbed before the seed is sown and usually harrowed in; b) fertilizer is put in at the same time as the seed and usually near to it in the soil. Top-dressing means putting a fertilizer onto a growing crop. It is commonly done with nitrogen fertilizers on growing grain crops such as a spring dressing of sulphate of ammonia for a crop of winter wheat. If the nitrogen had been applied in the seedbed, most of it would be washed out during the winter. Lime and plant foods in fertilizers are not all used up in the year they are applied to the soil. Some of the value is left over for a year or more and helps later crops.

4. Составьте краткий пересказ прочитанного текста “Fertilization”.

Text 7. Wheat

Use. Wheat-growing was extensively practiced throughout Europe in prehistoric times and this cereal was of great importance in the ancient civilizations of Persia, Greece and Egypt. It spread to all the temperate countries where it now plays a major part in the food supply of many nations and it is also widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas. Wheat and rye are the only grains with the potential to make raised (leavened) breads because their gluten content gives strength and elasticity to bread dough; wheat by far is the most important crop for this purpose.

Most types of common wheat can be used to produce bread and Asian-style noodles. For example, bread is produced in most countries from a blend of hard and soft wheats, and where high-protein hard wheat is unavailable, wheat gluten can be added. Durum wheat has an amber yellow endosperm (from which semolina is produced), unlike the white endosperm of common wheat, so that pasta from durum semolina is amber coloured. The flavour and cooking qualities of durum pasta are superior, and durum wheat is preferred for the production of pasta products, such as spaghetti and macaroni. Soft white winter wheat is most commonly grown, and this is used for producing soft gluten flour for confectionery products such as cakes, cookies, breakfast cereals, and crackers.

Cultivation. Durum is suited to a dry climate, with hot days and cool nights, and does well under dry conditions. About 8% of the world’s wheat production is durum wheat. The leading producers of durum wheat are the European Union, Canada, and the US.

Winter wheat does best on a well-formed seedbed. Ploughing should be done as early as possible and the normal depth would be in the region of 6 inches. The type of seedbed required for winter wheat can be described as one with a reasonable tilth in the top 2 – 3 inches, with a surface containing a high proportion of clods with the size of a man’s palm. This is to prevent capping, a condition which can easily arise with heavy rain, when the soil surface runs together forming a crust.

Manuring. With all crops it is essential to ensure that adequate supplies of phosphate and potash are available during the first few weeks of growth. Combine-drilling is the most economical way of applying these fertilizers, but with winter wheat time of sowing being of prime importance, the faster method of application using fertilizer spinners is more often preferred. For average conditions 30 units each of phosphate and potash will be sufficient. If the soil is rich in nitrogen, then 30 units/acre of fertilizer nitrogen would suffice, but under average conditions levels up to 60 units are considered economic rising to 80 units in the low rainfall areas. When the soil is likely to supply some nitrogen for early growth of a winter crop, then it is unlikely that any autumn fertilizer nitrogen would be required.

Seeding Rates. The amount of seed required for autumn wheat will vary between 1 and 2.5 cwt/acre. Early sowings need the least since the temperatures for germination are higher than those later on and a larger number of the seeds produce plants. As one goes north the autumn temperatures become significantly lower and hence to obtain the optimum number of plants it is necessary to sow larger quantities of seed.

Harvest. Winter wheat is normally harvested from August to October (in Britain), depending on the type of summer experienced and also the geographical location. Spring wheat matures much later than winter wheat and later than the other cereals.

Following a hot, dry summer grain may be combine-harvested under very good conditions; and if the moisture does not exceed 14% then it can be stored without drying. Moisture tests can be carried out at harvest and these are often used to indicate the stage of ripeness or readiness for combining. Grain must fairly firm, has a cheesy texture and does not exude any milky fluid when pressed. This stage is usually reached between 1 and 2 weeks before it can be combine-harvested.

Лексические упражнения.