7 elements of increasing the efficiency of growing potatoes

There are many uncontrollable factors in potato production technology. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to those factors that can be controlled. These include such as – the share of potatoes in the structure of the area of ​​cultivated crops, its yield, equipping with special equipment, as well as reducing losses during storage and logistics.

In this article, we want to propose methods and approaches to accomplish tasks to improve the efficiency of potato production. On the one hand, they are known to many, but not everyone succeeds in fulfilling them. This means that the methods for increasing efficiency are in smaller details that are not obvious.

1. If you don’t have this – don’t grow potatoes! The potato industry is characterized by a relatively high labor intensity. Therefore, a lot of manual labor is involved in the production (especially after harvesting, unloading and loading operations).

But manual labor, as a rule, is low-skilled and is characterized by staff turnover. And here a dilemma arises: leave everything as it is, or organize a mechanized process, risk incurring high costs for equipment, but at the same time, become independent from the confluence of circumstances, and technological processes will become controllable.

Growing potatoes requires a complete set of equipment: a planting complex for simultaneous soil preparation, fertilizing the rows, planting tubers and forming ridges; the presence of a potato harvester, a mechanical loader for potatoes. Unloading and loading should be mechanized, a potato storage with a climate control system should be built, lines for sorting and washing potato tubers should be installed, because this will increase the price segment of products.

2. Application of fertilizers is an integral part of obtaining a high yield of potatoes, so 10 tons of tubers take out about 50 kg of nitrogen, 20 kg of phosphorus, 90 kg of potassium. To obtain 30 t / ha of potatoes, it is necessary to provide a nitrogen level of about 120-150 kg / ha, and as practice shows, a further increase in the doses of fertilizers decreases the quality of the crop, worsens the keeping quality of tubers during storage. To fully provide the culture with phosphorus and potassium, it is enough to add 35-40 t / ha of rotted cattle manure or 10-12 t / ha of poultry manure on irrigation. When planting potatoes in rows, it is advisable to add 30 – 35 kg / ha of the active substance nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, for this there are azophoska, nitrophosphate, etc.

As a rule, nitrogen fertilizing is crushed by 3-4 times of application during the growing season, it is advisable to apply manure in the fall for the main processing. Potatoes grow well in acidic soils with a pH of 5,5-6,0; these are northern regions with light peaty soils, but potatoes are also sensitive to an overly acidic soil environment (pH below 5,5), as a result of which the yield decreases. Therefore, liming of such soils should be carried out and such forms of fertilizers should be selected, which gave a physiologically alkaline reaction (for example, manure) or neutral (from nitrogen, for example, urea). The increased alkaline reaction of the soil solution, pH above 7,5, also negatively affects; this leads to lower yields and increased disease damage, like scab. Such soils are located in the south of Russia. Potatoes are a fairly plastic crop, but its maximum growing efficiency is observed in a cool climate with light soils in granulometric composition.

59898162386985162398651235Adding lime to potatoes

On sandy soils and on clay soils to increase the content of organic matter, the most effective way is to grow green manure – green manure. According to experimental data in Germany and Great Britain for 25 – 30 years of using green manure plowing allowed to increase the humus content by an average of 10-20%. Sowing lupine with a biomass of 40 t / ha is equivalent to 40 – 45 t of manure. Lupine has a technological advantage – in the northern regions, and in the southern regions – mustard, oil radish. When the green mass of plants is in the budding phase, the field is discarded. This technique is effective with sufficient moisture or watering, because the activity of a microorganism, bacteria in dry soil slows down.

3. Preparing the soil. Potatoes can be grown after almost any crop. The only exceptions are crops of the nightshade family: tomatoes, peppers. For potatoes, return to the previous place, every 3 – 4 years.

The main task in soil preparation is to provide loose soil for planting potatoes in the ridges. Therefore, on heavy soils, such as clayey and loamy, it will be advisable to carry out plowing from autumn to a depth of 25-30 cm during the period of physical ripeness of the soil – before the onset of prolonged rains, because otherwise “plasticine” will be obtained. And this will be the last treatment before the spring planting of potatoes.

What to do if it rained all fall season? In this case, you should wait for severe frosts of -10 -15 ° C, so that the ground is frozen and excess moisture evaporates, and the ice in the ground tore up the dense layers of soil.

If there is stagnation of moisture in the fields, it is necessary to carry out a crevice with a subsoiler to a depth of 45-50 cm in advance. This may well be an alternative to deep plowing.

56198309562093160820365109235Poor plowing quality

On light soils, such as sod-podzolic, sandy and sandy loamy soils, it is enough to carry out disking by 10 -12 cm in autumn, because there is no point in cultivating deeper. Processing after harvesting the predecessor should consist in retaining moisture and preventing the growth of new weeds, for this it is enough to superficially cultivate the soil with disc implements with rollers or spring harrows 6-8 cm.

Sometimes farmers use rotary tillers in the spring before planting to create a loose layer. This is an acceptable option if ridges from plowing have remained since autumn. But the main disadvantage of this technological approach is the strong drying out of the soil and the shallow depth of cultivation. That is, after deep plowing of the field, we mow the ground, then plant potatoes. A narrow working width leads to more frequent driving in the field and, accordingly, the compaction of the earth with the tractor wheels. This in turn worsens the water and air regime of the soil and, as a result, low potato yield. Therefore, it is so important to prepare the soil for planting potatoes in one go from the fall.

4. Planting potato tubers begins when the soil warms up to + 6 … + 8 ° C at a depth of 8 – 10 cm, summer planting is allowed in the southern regions of Russia, but they are less productive than spring ones due to hot summer weather. With a planting scheme of 70 × 22-25 cm and an average mass of potato tubers of 50 – 70 g, about 2,8 – 4,0 tons of tubers per hectare will be needed. Planting machines from foreign manufacturers are designed for a row spacing of 1 cm, this is of course a better option, because a larger volume of the ridge with loose soil is formed, which will allow the plant to plant a larger number of tubers, the main thing is to prevent excessive compaction of the ridge itself during its formation.

It is advisable to acquire seed material from the northern regions, because in the south, potatoes are degenerating. In advance, potato tubers are treated with an insecticidal dressing agent based on imidocloprid to protect against bear, wireworm and Colorado potato beetle; against root rot, late blight, scab use preparations based on thiram.

569821036518629365109237502Planting potatoes

For planting potatoes, it is best to use special planting complexes with a compartment for fertilizers in rows and the formation of ridges. Leaving tramlines will prevent soil overconsolidation during subsequent technological operations – spraying and watering.

5. Agrochemistry. Careful attention should be paid to protecting potato plants from pests, diseases and weeds. The main pest in the fields with potatoes is the Colorado potato beetle; per day, with a population of 30, insects can completely destroy the bush along with the stems. Therefore, preparations containing the active ingredients imidacloprid, cypermethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, dimethoate are used against the Colorado potato beetle. The alternation of drugs from different classes of chemical groups will avoid pesticide resistance.

Weed control when growing potatoes begins in advance, in the presence of perennial root-sprouting weeds, such as field gorchak, sow thistle species; rhizome weeds: finger pork, creeping wheatgrass; quarantine weeds: ragweed species, dodder. As a rule, since autumn there is an outflow of nutrients from the leaves, stems into the roots of plants, therefore, 3-4 weeks before the main tillage of vegetative weeds, chemical treatment is carried out with preparations containing glyphosate, with the addition of 5 kg of ammonium nitrate per hectare in order to increase the effect of the herbicide. After 2 – 3 such treatments, the fields become clear of weeds, and it is important to prevent further insemination of weeds, because this will lead to an increase in seed stocks.

Preparations based on the active substance metribuzin should be used with caution and detailed study before using on potato crops, because this chemical is persistently stored in the soil and has an aftereffect. Therefore, it is impossible to sow any vegetable crops, legumes, sunflowers, rapeseed, mustard, beets, grain crops next year. These are the crops that are listed in the recommendations for use. In general, preparations that are stored in the soil are best used in monoculture for 2 – 3 years, and if there are doubts about their use in crop rotation, it is better to consult a specialist from the Russian Agricultural Center.

Of the approved preparations of the State Catalog of Pesticides and Agrochemicals on potatoes, prometrine, MCPA acid, rimsulfuron are also used with active ingredients.

The preservation of the leaf apparatus of potato plants throughout the growing season is a prerequisite for obtaining a large amount of production. With the help of fungicides, it is necessary to prevent damage to crops by late blight and reduce the spread of Alternaria to a level that is not associated with the threat of a decrease in yield. There are times when the use of fungicides is most effective. Comparison of different treatment times proves that spraying crops with a low level of infestation gives the best results. Delay in fungicide treatment at a scale of infestation of more than 15% leads to unsatisfactory results. Against such diseases as late blight, alternaria on vegetative potato plants, spraying with preparations based on mancoceb, metalaxyl, copper salts is carried out.

6. Irrigation. Potato plants should not lack moisture throughout the growing season. Only under this condition can one be sure of obtaining a high yield of potatoes, especially in the arid soil and climatic conditions of the south of Russia. The irrigation regime should provide for the constant maintenance of soil moisture at the level of 70 – 75%. An excess of moisture will also negatively affect the size of the potato crop, on lands with a close occurrence of groundwater, therefore, drainage is being constructed to lower the level.

Irrigation rates should be low to avoid flooding on clay, loamy soils and erosion of ridges in potato crops. Therefore, sprinklers on irrigation machines are selected with a finely dispersed outflow of water. Irrigation rate is within 400 – 450 m3/ ha. The need for the number of irrigations is set according to soil moisture sensors, in hot conditions the irrigation rate can reach up to 4500 – 5500 m3/ ha per season. Watering is stopped 2 weeks before harvesting.

7. Harvesting potatoes – an important and final stage before laying the tubers for storage in storage. In ripening potatoes, the tops begin to die off, and a dense, non-peeling peel forms on the tubers. Late winter storage potatoes are harvested when fully ripe. Early potatoes grown for summer consumption. The soil on the potato tubers is dried so that it flies off. In the process of sorting, loading and unloading, this issue is resolved by itself. When harvesting in wet and rainy weather, the potatoes must be dried within 2 – 3 days in the warehouse. When storing potatoes in bulk in piles, active ventilation is carried out to remove excess moisture.

18375092173056128356123523Separate harvesting of potatoes and their selection with a combine

Damage to potato tubers during harvesting should be minimal, because they intensively undergo respiration processes and consume a lot of dry matter, possibly getting putrefactive diseases. But wounds on potato tubers have wound healing properties under a high temperature of about 20оС, free air access and air humidity 90 – 95%. This regime is maintained for two weeks, and only then the temperature is reduced to 2 – 3оC.

Increasing the efficiency of potato cultivation presupposes a reduction in manual physical labor of people in favor of the use of machines and implements for potato cultivation. Especially when harvesting it, combine harvesters, loaders, unloaders are needed, because uncontrollable factors such as shortening the harvest time, the possibility of expanding the area of ​​the cultivated crop are removed, ultimately the cost of production is reduced and the opportunity to obtain products with greater competitiveness is expanded.

Anna Evans

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