Farmers, forced to work in risky farming areas, need special varieties of “second bread”. The requirements are simple: early maturity, resistance to diseases and pests, yield, taste. By trial and error, a number of varieties that correspond to these parameters have been selected from a variety of proposed ones. Among them, one of the leading places is occupied by scarlet potatoes. The description of the variety, reviews of large producers and private business executives indicate that some attention to this overseas product lived up to expectations.
The correct name for the red-skinned variety is Red Scarlett. It became widespread after 2000, entered into the State Register of the Russian Federation. Especially relevant were its advantages for cultivation in the middle lane and southern regions of Russia. A short time period, where the temperature regime favors the growth of potatoes, forces large and medium-sized agricultural enterprises to purchase seeds of early varieties.
Good results are obtained by summer residents who have tried scarlet potatoes on their plots. Can everyone boast of goodyields of Dutch species? Not always and not all. The reason is banal: agronomists do not use the methods of the authors for growing potatoes. Not everywhere the soil has a loose structure, not all farms can maintain water balance during the growth of tubers. They do not always maintain the recommended row spacing when planting Dutch varieties. And the amount of light penetrating through the leaves greatly affects the result.
Scarlet potato: variety description
This potato was bred by Dutch breeders. This is an early ripe table variety. The bush is formed undersized. It is an upright plant with medium-sized green leaves and low waviness of their edges. Blooms with flowers of medium size. The petals are cast in reddish or lilac hues, sometimes purple components are present. White flowers should not be found on the plantation. The tops are growing fast. Under good conditions, a dense bush is formed.
Requires sparse planting of these potatoes. The variety "red scarlet" forms tubers rapidly, laying a lot of tuberous buds. Expected yield - up to 400 kg from 0.1 ha.
Description of tuber
The peel of the tuber is red or dark pink. The shape is oval, elongated, leveled. The eyes are small and shallow. The pulp on the cut is yellow. These potatoes (Red Scarlet variety) store well in a cool, dry place. High starch content provides good taste of tubers. They retain a marketable aesthetic appearance for a long time. From 80 to 96% of tubers from the total yieldpotatoes of this variety have an optimal size for sale (80-150 g). The product tolerates transportation well.
In dishes, the tubers are slightly boiled soft. Due to the starch content (16% by weight), the color of the finished dish remains creamy yellow.
Red Scarlet Potato: characteristics
In the Netherlands, a pink-oval red scarlet was bred for a very early and high yield. Vegetative development ends within 75 days. The plant tolerates short-term drought. Prefers well-cultivated soil, sparse planting. With long storage, 98% of the quality products of the Red Scarlet variety are preserved.
Potato (the description characterizes this variety as a table variety) is also suitable for industrial processing. The structure of the pulp of the tubers allows you to keep the shape. Chips and french fries are crispy, do not absorb a lot of oil. Tubers do not change color when mechanically damaged, they tolerate washing well.
Features of the variety
Resistant to:
- golden potato nematode;
- late blight of tops and tubers;
- the causative agent of cancer;
- PVYn virus.
Slightly less resistant to:
- potato scab;
- Alternaria (prophylactic treatment reduces the risk if carried out at the beginning of flowering).
Comparative characteristics
The scarlet variety was included in the State Register in 2000 in the Central (No. 3) region. He successfully passed the tests, was recommended for breeding in other areas of the Russian Federation. These are regions No. 2 (North-Western), No. 4 (Volga-Vyatka), No. 10 (West Siberian). In areas where summer is short, getting an early harvest solves the food problem.
The analysis showed that the commercial yield of varieties "good luck", "zhukovsky early" yielded to the same parameter corresponding to the species "scarlet". Potatoes received good reviews, as the yield on the experimental site was higher by 22 centners / ha. In terms of yield on the 45th day after full germination, the Scarlet potato was ahead of the Zhukovsky early one by 24 c/ha. Its indicator was 84 c/ha. On day 55, the difference was 45 c/ha, respectively. An experiment was conducted in the Moscow region. The Smolensk region revealed the highest yield of the Scarlet variety. Potatoes, the description of which attracted farmers, showed a yield at the level of the Isora standard of 270 c/ha.
Variety advantage
The biggest advantage of scarlet potatoes over other early varieties is the tuber resistance to the golden potato nematode. The Latin name for the parasite is Globodera rostochiensis. This type of nematode settles and infects all plants of the nightshade family, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants.
Nematodes are dangerous for small areas of private households - where it is difficult to observe crop rotation with a 5-year break. Infected plants quickly wither, turn yellow, tubers develop poorly, and their number is minimal. Up to 80% of the crop can belose if the planting of ordinary potatoes is returned to this place after 2 years. If the land after potatoes is planted with other representatives of the nightshade, then their yield will also be drastically reduced. Resistance to the parasite is demonstrated by scarlet potatoes. Description of the variety, reviews of potato producers confirm this. This distinguishes it favorably from other varieties. Its dense skin does not attract nematodes, which saves the harvest.
Dutch potatoes: care features
Potato varieties bred in Holland showed their best side at the beginning of cultivation. Then interest in them declined markedly. Reviews of potato growers increasingly contained pessimistic notes. Doubts arose both in the protection of the variety from the insidious phytophthora, and in the yield. The scarlet potato did not stand out on this list either. Description of the variety, reviews of Dutch producers promised abundant harvests precisely due to immunity to late blight. But in practice, the results were lower, more and more plants were sick with diseases. There was information that the variety is degenerating. He began to leave the crop rotation.
Holland is a country with an established tradition of growing such crops as potatoes. Meticulously observing the special rules of cultivation, she urged everyone to repeat their experience as accurately as possible. Three components of success: loose, structured soil that can deliver air to the roots of the plant, sufficient moisture at the time of laying the tubers, maximum access to light to the stems and roots.
Catch up and overtake
Create such conditions for the production of promising Dutch varieties, not every farm was capable of. Acid sandstones or peaty lands, clayey dense soils did not provide requests. A habit of decades! Remember "square-nested"? The usual landing of 60 x 60 did not give air, light to the roots. When row spacing is taken to be 80 cm for early varieties, the seed potato planting depth does not exceed 4 cm, and the ridges are formed 25 cm high, the yield increases dramatically.
The Dutch cope with weeds with the help of chemistry. The low level of diseases is a consequence of a rigid processing system. Strict alternation of special preparations and 6-time processing of potato areas save the plant from diseases. Without these conditions, the scarlet potato, according to our gardeners, will “catch” late blight quickly, and there is no special immunity as such.
Planting material
Special attention is required to the preparation of seed material. To grow a quality seed stock, maintain a normalized planting frequency. Each square meter is planted with 30 bushes. To get a similar result, select from the germinated tubers those that have at least five eyes awakened. The size of tubers for planting is preferably 3-5 cm. Control strictly the purity of the variety. If the color of the potato does not match the variety on the site, remove the bush from the sown area. If this is a single plant, cut off the color, put an identifier and remove it from the control group when digging. Subject to the above requirementsthe quality of planting material will reach elite levels.
Save the harvest will help a single treatment of tubers from viral infection. This must be done before boarding.
Cleaning dates
Very early variety requires a responsible approach to the timing of harvesting, digging up the seed fund. The scarlet potato also has a special feature. Description of the variety, reviews of potato growers suggest harvesting much earlier than usual. At the end of August or in early September, table potatoes are harvested from the field. For the seed fund, the period is suitable in July - early August.
Tops are removed 10 days before harvest. This will speed up the ripening, firming of the skin on the potatoes. The density of the skin will serve as protection against possible mechanical damage during harvesting and storage.
After harvesting potatoes, sow rye, mustard. It is good to give the field under lupins for one year. These crops will enrich and clear the soil for the future potato crop. Planting nightshade alternate with sowing legumes. Only by fulfilling all the requirements, you can appreciate the benefits of Dutch varieties.
