An early variety of potatoes Luck is loved by many summer residents for its early maturity, thin skin and other positive characteristics. Its tubers look very attractive both for individual use and for mass sales. This variety is the result of a long and painstaking work of Russian breeders. Thanks to their efforts, farmers and consumers have received a product that can compete with elite foreign varieties.
Potato Luck: variety description
An excellent plastic variety that easily adapts to any soil and climatic conditions. Belongs to early ripening table crops. The ripening period lasts from 65 to 80 days. The yield is not bad, its figure is 430 kg / ha. From one bush, you can get up to 15 tubers weighing at least 100 g. The starch content is normal – 11-15%. Keeping quality for an early variety is quite high, depending on the region of cultivation and storage conditions, it varies within 88-97%.
The bushes of this potato are dense, spreading, the average height is 35-40 cm. The leaf plate is dissected, dark green in color. Potatoes Luck do not bloom as abundantly as some other varieties, but if the weather conditions are favorable, then delicate white flowers will appear on the plant, connected in a brush.
Where can these potatoes be grown? It is excellent for the Far Eastern, Central, Middle Volga, Northwestern Volga-Vyatka and Central Black Earth regions of our country.
Luck potatoes: characteristics of tubers
The following distinctive qualities of this vegetable can be distinguished:
- oval, slightly elongated shape;
- smooth and thin skin;
- light creamy (sometimes yellowish) shade on the outside and white on the inside;
- the eyes are small, stand out well on the surface, since they have a darker color;
- the tubers are even and flawless, which allows cleaning with a minimum amount of waste;
- when cooking, the pulp becomes yellowish;
- taste at the level.
Potatoes Luck: ripening period
The seed planted in May gives its first harvest in early July, as the ripening period lasts about 2 months. You can start trying young tubers as early as 45 days, their peel is very thin and easy to peel, and the flesh is tender and appetizing. It is necessary to dig out the crop completely no later than on the 80th day from the moment of planting.
Main pros and cons
The potato variety Luck has a number of positive characteristics. If we compare it with other early species, the following advantages can be distinguished.
- Not afraid of the cold. Tubers in the ground begin to germinate at a temperature of +10 degrees. That is why some gardeners start planting this variety in mid-April in order to get an early harvest. Early planting is recommended for the central and southern regions.
- Fast ripening. As mentioned above, the ripening time is minimal, after a month and a half you can dig in young tubers and use them to prepare a variety of dishes.
- Disease resistance. Not susceptible to scab attacks, does not suffer from late blight, is immune to wrinkled mosaic and potato cancer. It is almost never affected by viral infections.
- Excellent taste. The pulp is of medium density, not watery. The pieces hold their shape well during cooking, baking and frying. Potatoes passed a lot of checks. Luck. Its taste is highly appreciated.
- Resistance to mechanical damage. The tubers are rarely damaged by automated harvesting. This is important when grown over large areas and transported over long distances.
- High keeping quality. The variety is early, but despite this it has good keeping quality. If the storage conditions are observed, losses will be minimal, only 5-8% of the total mass of tubers.
There are not so many disadvantages, and they are easily eliminated.
- The variety does not like excessive thickening of the bushes. If the plantings are dense, the rhizome has nowhere to grow, which reduces the number and mass of tubers.
- Under unfavorable growth conditions, plants will not be able to withstand the attack of the golden nematode, in addition, the risk of developing Alternaria increases.
Agrotechnical recommendations
It is not difficult to grow potatoes. Luck. Planting begins in late April or early May, but first you need to carry out all the preparatory work.
The advantage of this variety is that it is not picky about the composition of the soil; it can be successfully grown both on chernozems and on loams and even on clayey soils. The soil on the site is dug up and plowed up in the fall. This is necessary so that during the winter all harmful organisms die in it and the remnants of weeds are overwhelmed. Digging and plowing also makes the soil looser. In the spring, the soil on the site is leveled and loosened before planting. Also during this period, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. If the site is clayey, then it is better to form ridges. With this method of landing, the air permeability and heating of the layers are significantly increased.
Early potatoes Luck needs to sprout tubers before planting. About 3 weeks before, the seed is removed from storage and transferred to a warm, lighted room. The tubers are laid out in boxes or simply scattered on the floor. At a temperature of + 12-15 degrees, sprouts 5-6 cm high will grow from the eyes. It is this planting material that will give amicable shoots and an early harvest.
Since the tubers of the variety in question are large enough, some summer residents find it difficult to select seed. There is no problem here, you just need to cut large specimens into 2-3 parts so that a sufficient number of eyes remain on each piece. Such a procedure is carried out immediately before planting or in the evening if planting work is scheduled for the morning of the next day.
Another pre-planting technique is spraying tubers (delenok) with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dusting with wood ash. What do these substances give? First, the planting material will be disinfected. Second, the tubers will get a healthy dose of potassium. And thirdly, a protective layer forms on them.
You can plant in holes or on ridges. The optimal distance between rows is 65-70 cm, and between bushes in a row is 30-35 cm. With this planting scheme, the rhizome grows well, a greater number of large tubers and corresponding mass are formed in it.
Care after landing
To increase the yield of potatoes Good luck, it is necessary to timely loosen the soil, hilling, watering and applying fertilizers.
If the planting was made too early, then the site should be covered with a special material or mulched with dry grass, sawdust and other organic matter.
Loosening is carried out often, this agrotechnical technique ensures the air permeability of the soil. In parallel with it, weeds are removed along with the roots, which take useful substances from cultivated plants.
It is possible to huddle the bushes at a time when their height reaches 15-20 cm. It is advisable to re-huddle the bushes after heavy rains. The higher the heaps of earth are formed, the more tubers will be tied.
For watering potatoes Luck is not picky, in fact, like most of the early varieties. Additional watering is recommended only when, due to severe drought, the ground literally begins to crack. Thanks to this, the Luck potatoes received reviews in many parts of Russia. But if this variety feels great without additional moisture and there is no need to water it constantly (otherwise you can get the opposite effect), then the introduction of nitrogen fertilizers, on the contrary, will have a very positive effect on the growth of young plants. The main thing is that the dose is not too high.
How to deal with pests
In damp weather, potato stalks are sometimes affected by late blight. To save the harvest, you need to fight this disease – buy contact fungicides in advance and start processing at the first manifestations.
Colorado potato beetle larvae love to feast on the terrestrial part of this culture. To protect plants from them and not harm yourself, you need to choose the right means. Folk methods have shown the greatest efficiency in the fight against this insect and its larvae:
Features of the variety
Plants of this variety very rarely show their white inflorescences. Why potatoes are not blooming Luck? Because it is an early variety and tubers begin to form even before the flowering period. The buds simply do not have time to form, open and grow seeds.
The taste of this potato allows you to cook a wide variety of dishes, from ordinary mashed potatoes to all kinds of potato casseroles. It is grown both for individual use and for industrial purposes.
Due to the fact that the period of ripening of potatoes, the luck from the moment of planting is on average 60-70, the tubers can be tried already in early July.
The variety is well kept, despite the fact that it belongs to the early ones. Tubers can be safely laid in cellars and cellars without fear of losing a significant percentage of the crop.
Luck is the ideal potato for growing in our country. If in doubt, try planting a few bushes first. For the next season, these potatoes will become the main vegetable in your garden.
