The high-yielding potato Melody is the result of painstaking work by Dutch breeders. He quickly passed a variety test in our country and was recognized as one of the varieties with high growing prospects.
The Dutch introduced Melody in the late 2000s, and a few years later this potato became popular in Russia as well. It has excellent characteristics, but in order to preserve them, it is necessary to change the seed material every 3-4 years.
Brief description of the variety
Potatoes Melody refers to mid-late varieties for table purposes. The full ripening period of tubers is 100-120 days from the moment of laying in the soil. Differs in a fairly high yield. Its indicator is 175-250 c / ha. Under favorable conditions, you can get up to 335 c / ha. One bush ripens from 7 to 11 tubers, the mass of which ranges from 95-180 g.
Plants have straight bushes with rich green foliage. A slight waviness is noticeable along the edge of the leaf plate. Flowers of a purple hue with a slight reddish tint. The roots are well developed, but at the same time they are compact.
Characteristics of tubers
You can distinguish Melody from other varieties due to the following characteristic features:
- correct oval shape;
- small superficial eyes;
- pronounced mesh pattern on the skin;
- light yellow skin color;
- pleasant yellow pulp.
The starch content in the tubers of this variety is 11-17%, dry matter – 20,5%. The keeping quality index is quite high – 95%. Potatoes boil well and taste good. The variety tolerates transportation well; after transportation, the integrity of the peel is preserved. Dutch potatoes Melody are used for preparing first courses and mashed potatoes, they are also suitable for processing in industries.
Separately, it should be said about such an important characteristic of the variety as the dormant period. It lasts for 8 months, so in the cellars and basements, the potatoes retain their original appearance for a long time. She does not sprout, “wrinkles” do not appear on her.
Cultivation
Seed preparation begins in early spring, when the tubers are taken out of storage and carefully sorted. All spoiled specimens are discarded, since one should not expect a rich harvest from them. Potatoes with a diameter of 3 to 7 cm are selected for planting, always with a large number of eyes.
Land work for planting potatoes includes several activities aimed at ensuring high yields. Let’s list the main ones.
- Even in the fall, you need to collect all plant residues from the site and make a deep digging. If the garden is large, then you cannot do without a tractor (thanks to the technique, you can carry out deep plowing). At this stage, it is advisable to add manure to the soil at the rate of 4-5 kg per 1 square meter.
- In the spring, digging is carried out again, fertilizers are added. Experienced gardeners recommend adding ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate according to the instructions on the package.
- Planting seed tubers of the Melody variety can be started from mid-May, when the soil is already warmed up enough and the threat of frost has passed. Due to bad weather conditions, this event is sometimes postponed to the end of the month.
The planting scheme is simple: the width between the bushes is 35 cm, between the rows – 70 cm. It is this option that allows the tubers to form in sufficient quantity and freely increase the mass.
The depth of the holes depends on the type of soil:
- potatoes are planted on sandy soils to a depth of 9-12 cm;
- on clay soils and loams, the tubers should be laid higher – about 7-8 cm from the surface.
Plant Care
In order for the bushes to grow quickly, the green mass builds up, the tubers develop, the plants need timely care. After planting in the ground, Melody potatoes need loosening, weeding, watering and top dressing. We must not forget about pests that can cause serious damage to plantings and thereby reduce the yield. Let’s consider each stage in more detail.
- Loosening of the soil is carried out regularly so that moisture and nutrients can freely flow to the roots. The first time it needs to be done 1,5 weeks after planting. Due to loosening, the crust that forms on the surface of the earth is destroyed and prevents the emergence of friendly shoots of young plants.
- Weeding is necessary when weeds begin to actively fill the area. It is removed along with the roots so that weeds do not recover and do not take away nutrients from cultivated plants.
- Watering is needed for potatoes Melody in the driest periods of summer. If the summer is rainy, then there is no need for constant additional irrigation. In this case, it is recommended to water the planting only twice, during the flowering period and the active formation of tubers.
- Fertilizers are applied before watering directly under the bush. In order for the plants to receive the maximum nutrients, it is advisable to use a mixture of mineral and organic supplements.
- Pest control is the most critical process in plant care. If left to chance, insects will literally devour all the potatoes. Most often, potatoes are attacked by the Colorado potato beetle – the worst enemy of gardeners. But he himself is less dangerous than his larvae, capable of gnawing leaves from a bush in just a day. This causes irreparable damage to the future harvest. To avoid such a nuisance, it is necessary to process both the seed material before planting, and the leaves of the plants during the moments of active insect attacks. The drugs Commander, Tabu and their analogues have proven themselves quite well. When using such products, it is important not to forget about the precautions. It is necessary to work in gloves, a respirator and goggles so that the chemicals do not damage the mucous membranes.
Insects are not the only threat to potatoes. He can be susceptible to viral, fungal and bacterial diseases. The most dangerous are:
How to deal with the listed and other cultural diseases? You can use store-bought chemicals or proven folk remedies. From factory chemicals, you should choose proven ones: Epin Plus, Ridomil, Ecosil, Agat. Opponents of chemistry prefer folk remedies, the best among which are infusion of garlic, lime, fermented milk solution, boric acid and copper sulfate.
Fighting potato diseases is a laborious process, so competent farmers pay a lot of attention to preventing the appearance of viruses and fungi. The most effective preventive measures include the following:
- use of healthy planting stock;
- timely removal and disposal of damaged plants;
- timely removal of plant residues from the garden (both weeds and cultivated plants);
- timely destruction of Colorado beetles, cicadas and aphids, which are carriers of viruses and bacteria;
- processing of planting material before planting in the ground with antiviral and antifungal agents;
- observance of crop rotation (the best green manure plants are legumes, flax, lupine, herbaceous crops).
Harvesting and storage of crops
Ripe tubers begin to be harvested after all the tops lie on the ground. By the time of harvest, it may already be dry, but if the stems remain strong and juicy, then they need to be mowed or cut off and the harvesting of potatoes is postponed for a couple of days. This is necessary so that the tubers dry out a little, and their skin becomes coarse. Potatoes prepared in this way are much less susceptible to mechanical damage during digging and transportation.
The melody is dug with a shovel, pitchfork, or collected using mechanized means. Tubers are dried directly on the site, scattering them on a flat sunny surface in one layer. Then the potatoes are sorted out, sorted by size and placed in boxes, nets or bags made of natural fabrics. In bags (boxes), they must stand for some time under a canopy, so that excess moisture comes out of them. In about a week they will be ready to be sent to storage, where they will lie until next season.
Seed potatoes are best stored separately from those intended for human consumption. Throughout the entire shelf life of the tubers, it is recommended to periodically sort out and remove rotten specimens, if any appear. This will prevent nearby potatoes from rotting.
In conclusion
Melody potatoes are a very promising variety of Dutch origin. Stable yield, excellent taste, consumer demand, high preservation during storage and transportation – these are the characteristics that will help it become a leader among all varieties that exist today.
