Currently, there are many excellent varieties of potatoes of different ripening periods: extra early, early, mid-ripening, late. Each variety has its own growing characteristics, advantages and distinctive qualities. But in order to preserve the unique properties of root crops and get an excellent harvest, high-quality planting material is needed.
Preparation of the seed fund
It begins in the fall when harvesting potato tubers. It is important to take care in advance that the harvested parts are cleaned of mechanical impurities and dirt, and the mother tubers are completely removed. Planting material must be free of physical damage and deformed areas, and tubers must also be selected by size - too small or too large for planting are not suitable.
Some farmers practice cutting large potato tubers into several pieces to get more seeds. However, for highly productive crops, this method cannot berecommended. The risk of contamination of the culture with bacterial, fungal and viral diseases is too great. They subsequently lead to significant crop losses - up to 80%.
Chemical pest control
Growing potato planting material will be ineffective without chemical treatment with special preparations. Tubers will not give a big harvest if they are affected by diseases and pests. The most common drugs based on thiabendazole and imidazole.
Planting material of the most susceptible varieties to diseases is additionally treated with antifungal agents before planting. Special attention should be paid to the protection of seed potatoes from viral diseases. It is widely practiced to treat tubers with insecticides, which begin to protect young plants already during germination. The dressing is also effective against the Colorado potato beetle and the ubiquitous aphid.
Biological preparation
Potato planting material germinates on average in about 20-40 days after being placed in the soil. The speed of germination and, consequently, the timing of harvesting is influenced by both varietal affiliation (early varieties ripen faster) and the effect of specially applied biological preparations on tubers. They are used to shorten the growing season by about two to four weeks.
The principle of biological preparation is to force the tubers to wake up from hibernation and create he althy shoots. The main goals of biological seedling preparation are:
- receiptoptimal number of sprouts;
- acceleration of plant germination;
- providing an earlier harvest with larger tubers;
- reducing the risk of attack by pests and viral diseases.
Forcing tubers
Seeds and planting material are often subjected to this procedure. Distillation allows you to "wake up" the tubers and form he althy sprouts. The total duration of the process at a suitable temperature of 8-10 ° C is from one to three weeks. The procedure does not require any special equipment and can be implemented at minimal cost even in the case of bulky tubers. Forcing is used in all commercial potato growing lines.
The first option is to place the material under diffused light three weeks before the planned sowing. It is better to build racks with drawers in advance, to ensure uniform access to light and ventilation. In case of low outside temperatures, it is necessary to protect the tubers from freezing by covering them with spunbond or straw.
The second option is to limit the access to light two weeks before planting. The placement on the racks is similar to how it is done in diffused light, with the only difference being that the folded tubers are immediately covered with a thick tarpaulin or dark film. After the planting material “wakes up” (white dots form on the surface of the potatoes), you need to remove the tarp and ventilate the room.
The third option is to gradually increase the temperature in the room where the seed fund is stored. Suchdistillation begins three weeks before planting, the temperature gradually rises to 8 ° C. When the length of the sprouts reaches 1-2 mm (no more than 5 mm), a further increase in temperature should be limited. Keep indoors at standard storage temperature.
Additional growth stimulation
In the first ten days of the process, planting material should be left at a temperature of 8-12 ° C in the dark. After the appearance of sprouts 3-5 mm long, it is necessary to begin to illuminate the tubers for 8-12 hours a day and increase the temperature to 12-18 ° C, while the relative humidity should be 80-90%. As a light source, you can use both natural and artificial light or fluorescent lamps. This storage mode is kept for 20-25 days.
A common mistake made by manufacturers of potato planting material is planting from a warm room directly into open ground. About a week before planting, tubers should be cooled to 6-8°C to avoid heat stress after planting in cold soil in spring. For cooling, tubers can be placed in containers in special trays or in transparent plastic bags with ventilation holes.
