How to get a good potato crop

Preparing the soil

Potatoes are not a whimsical plant. This is a crop that adapts well to soil conditions. However, it reacts sharply to soil compaction and waterlogging. The task of soil preparation is to provide favorable conditions for plant growth and development, as well as to ensure optimal nutrient and water-air conditions.

Agrotechnical operations should be aimed at ensuring the optimal structure of the arable layer for the development of potatoes.

Requirements for soil preparation:

1. Provide a fine crumbly soil structure prior to planting; eliminate the high soil density at the level of the plow sole, it is necessary to create conditions for the unhindered penetration of potato roots into the arable and sub-arable horizon;
2. Evenly distribute organic residues of manure, a precursor to the crop, in the soil;
3. To provoke the growth of weeds for germination, to carry out measures to destroy them mechanically, namely by disking and cultivation;
4. Preserve soil moisture, enable the accumulation of autumn-winter moisture and preserve it by the time of planting potatoes;
5. Form appropriate ridges for the growth of potato plants, create conditions for unhindered mechanized harvesting of tubers;

In order to improve the quality of the crop, in recent years, the use of ridge separation systems has been gaining popularity to ensure the freedom of the arable layer from clods and stones.

The main measures of pre-plant soil cultivation include:

1. Shredding and incorporation of the predecessor stubble into the soil;
2. Compliance with crop rotation, exclude the planting of closely related crops, as well as the annual planting of potatoes;
3. The introduction of exclusively mineral fertilizers, as the introduction of organic fertilizers increases the risk of weeds contamination of the field;
4. Chemical weed control;
5. Plowing (on heavy soils in autumn, on light soils in spring);
6. Cutting of pre-planting ridges (in spring for the purpose of quick warming up);
7. Carrying out pre-planting harrowing and cultivation.

The above activities should not be carried out according to a template, since any farmer must take into account the soil and climatic conditions of the region and the climate of each year.

Saline and alkaline soils are not suitable for growing potatoes. Loamy soils with good water holding capacity are ideal. You should pay attention to the soil pH, the rate of which is 5.2-6.4.

Potatoes are planted in the spring, but the preparation of the soil should be done in the fall: to clear the crop residues of the predecessor by disking, to do deep loosening to a depth of up to a meter – depending on the structure of the soil and peeling the soil.

Planting potatoes

Potato yield is directly related to the productivity of each main stem on each individual plant. Taking into account the average mass of planting tubers, as well as their size, the plant nutrition area varies from 0,13 to 0,27 m2, and the number of plants is from 43 to 59 thousand plants.

How to fertilize?

Potatoes are a demanding crop for the content of nutrients in the soil. For a high yield and its quality, it is very important to ensure the content of nutrients available for potatoes in the arable layer. When planning the yield, it is worth considering the removal of nutrients by potatoes, replenishing the amount of elements that potatoes need in the presence of the results of agrochemical analysis.

Recently, the introduction of manure has been excluded in production, since the use of manure provokes an abundance of growth of weeds and outbreaks of epiphytotics in potato crops.

We fight weeds. Application of herbicides

A wide-row potato crop, has very low competitiveness in the early stages of development, before the tops close in rows, which leads to suppression of growth and development of the crop. In the germination phase, there are already 4-6 weeds per m2 or 5-6% of the weedy area, without weed control measures, the yield decreases up to 80%. The need for weed control is also conditioned by the fact that among the weeds there are intermediate hosts carrying pathogens of potato pathogens. In the later stages of clogging, as a rule, in the ripening phase, the harvesting campaign with agricultural equipment becomes more difficult.

According to the types of struggle, there are two ways: mechanical and chemical.

Mechanical control begins with cultivating the field and creating elevated ridges. However, it is not possible to mechanically control weeds on all types of soil. To control weeds, a flat-cut hiller, spinning hoes, row cutters, hoes with hilling paws, hillers, etc. are used.

With a chemical method of control, the following terms for the introduction of herbicides are used:

• Pre-emergence;
• Postemergence in the germination phase 6-9%;
• Post-emergence treatment, when potatoes are up to 20 cm high.

At the first two dates of application, soil herbicides based on prosulfocarb and metribuzin are used. After germination, selective herbicides are applied through the leaves based on metribuzin, MCA, rimsulforone.

When applying herbicides, soil action should be taken into account:

• Subsidence of ridges;
• Depth of planting tubers so that the herbicide does not hit the point of growth of potatoes;
• The soil structure should have a fine crumbly texture and sufficient moisture to provide a herbicidal, protective shield.

When using herbicides, you need to take a break to reduce the watering of potatoes by 4-5 days. Also, when improving the quality of herbicide use, it is necessary to take into account the serviceability of the equipment and the cleanliness of the sprayer tanks.

In the last phase of potato development, before harvesting, contact herbicides based on diquat are used as desiccation to speed up the ripening period. This is true in regions with a humid climate, where the culture does not have time to ripen by the time of harvest.

Harvest

When harvesting potatoes, it is important to consider minimizing tuber loss and damage. Late varieties of potatoes, with the exception of early ones, are harvested already with full maturation of the tuber skin. The use of a complex of technology. It is necessary to take into account the reserve of equipment and the study of siding in case of a breakdown. Since the weather conditions get worse closer to autumn, the harvesting company must be done as soon as possible. Favorable conditions for harvesting include a low probability of precipitation. The temperature of the air and soil should not be lower than 10 ° C. The moisture content of the soil should not exceed 70% of the moisture capacity of the soil. Potatoes are harvested using a digger or potato harvesters.

Potato storage

Potatoes must be inspected before being stored in storage. Inspection consists in the presence of a receiving bunker, a conveyor system where workers are located, who control the absence of excess land and crop residues. Then the potatoes go to the sorting bunker, where they are divided into fractions, excess residues are separated, and then the potatoes go to the storage.

For the first 10-15 days, potatoes have a healing period. During this period, a high temperature is maintained and there is a constant blowing of the bulk from the inside thanks to the air sleeves passing along the floor of the storage. During harvesting, potatoes can be damaged, if they are stored in this form and do not undergo treatment, then the potatoes will rot in the middle of winter, which will lead to large losses. The temperature when treating potatoes is 10-15 degrees.

After the treatment period, there is a planned decrease in the temperature in the storage. Airflow is maintained, and every day there is a decrease in temperature until it reaches 0-2 degrees. A cork layer is formed at the sites of damage. During the storage period, temperature and oxygen levels are monitored. The carbon dioxide content should not exceed 50 ppm.
If there is an increase, then airing is carried out. If you do not ventilate, then the activation of pathogenic diseases of the potato will occur.

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Anna Evans

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