Potatoes Are The Second Bread

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Potatoes Are The Second Bread
Potatoes Are The Second Bread

Video: Potatoes Are The Second Bread

Video: Potatoes Are The Second Bread
Video: Bread vs. Potato: What's Worse? 2024, March
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There is archaeological evidence that the earliest forms of potatoes were cultivated in Peru about 4,500 years ago. The Incas developed cold-resistant varieties from wild potatoes, which formed the basis of their diet. The Spanish conquistadors, who arrived in South America in search of gold, treasures and new lands, looting in devastated villages, stumbled upon several unusual products: corn, beans and "truffles".

What the Spaniards thought were truffles were actually potato tubers, which, among other trophies, they brought home in the 16th century. Thus began the conquest of European and then world recognition by potatoes.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a species of perennial tuberous herbaceous plants from the genus Solanum (Solanum) of the family Solanaceae. Potato tubers are an important food product.

Potatoes
Potatoes

At first, potatoes spread slowly in Europe and did not enjoy much confidence, they were grown only as an unusual novelty. In some circles, he even developed a strange reputation as a vegetable unclean, unhealthy, primitive and even … contrary to the spirit of Christianity. However, other people have recognized potatoes as a healing plant that can cure a variety of diseases (from diarrhea to tuberculosis) and … a powerful aphrodisiac.

Of course, now we can laugh at such representations as much as we like, but it took such a difficult path for potatoes to finally get their true recognition in Europe as a delicacy. But this happened only in the 17th century, when many European monarchs began to popularize potatoes in their territories as a valuable vegetable crop that could feed the wide masses. Later the British sent the potatoes to their colonies in North America, so the potatoes made another trip across the Atlantic.

Site selection and soil preparation for potatoes

Potatoes prefer loose, deeply cultivated, light to medium loamy or sandy loam soils. The requirements for soil fertility in this culture are high. The soil should be dug up in the fall to a depth of 25-35 cm.

At the same time, it is recommended to plow more humus or compost into the ground (at the rate of 6-8 kg per 1 sq.m.), which will have time to decompose well during the winter.

Potatoes love well-lit, sunny places: Placing this crop in shady places leads to stretching of plants and the formation of small tubers. It is not recommended to grow potatoes in one place for two years in a row, since in this case pests and pathogens accumulate in the soil, it begins to degenerate. The potatoes are returned to their original place no earlier than 3-4 years later. It can be placed after any vegetable or grain crop except tomato, pepper, eggplant, and strawberry.

Potato field
Potato field

Preparing for planting potatoes

Everyone knows that it is desirable to plant sprouted tubers (with a sprout length of 1-2 cm). If you are late with the preparation for planting potatoes, and there are no sprouts on your tubers yet, you should at least "wither" them. At least a week before planting potatoes, spread the planting material in a thin layer in a ventilated room with an air temperature of about 15 degrees.

It is advisable to wash the tubers beforehand - it is easier to find spoiled potatoes, and pathogens will at least partially wash off.

If there are no more than five days left before the planned planting of potatoes, then it is better to warm the potatoes at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. Two days before planting, the potatoes can be warmed up even more severely - at 30 degrees, but only if you are absolutely sure that there are no viral infections of the planting material. Otherwise, such a high temperature will provoke the development of plant diseases.

If you prepared potatoes for planting by the method of long-term light germination, then a few days before planting, the potatoes must be placed in a dark place.

Many gardeners use tubers soaking before planting - potatoes are placed in a solution of mineral fertilizers to accelerate germination, enhance growth, and increase productivity. The solution is prepared as follows: 400 g of superphosphate is infused for a day in 10 liters of water, stirring occasionally, then 400 g of ammonium nitrate and trace elements such as zinc, manganese, copper, boron, magnesium are added. The tubers are placed in the resulting solution for 1 hour. Once the tubers are dry, you can start planting the potatoes. An increase in yield by 10-40%, depending on the variety, is obtained by soaking potato tubers for a day in a solution of the preparation "Baikal EM-1" in a ratio of 1: 1000.

It is also useful to dust the planting material with ash. Firstly, ash is a valuable mineral fertilizer that improves soil quality. Secondly, it improves the quality of the potatoes themselves. Due to the fact that potassium in the ash is contained in carbon dioxide, the starch content in the tubers increases.

Planting potatoes

Planting potatoes is a responsible business. It is not enough just to throw the tubers into the holes and bury them. Holes (or trenches) must be prepared.

Potatoes
Potatoes

Before planting potatoes, it is useful to water the wells with a solution of copper sulfate (1 tbsp. L. Per bucket of water), add 1 tsp. a mixture of crushed eggshell and vegetable oil, a pound of compost or humus and a couple of tablespoons of wood ash in each hole. All this must be mixed in the hole with the ground, and only then spread the tubers. This complex will help protect potato plantings from fungal diseases, cabbage and give future plants the necessary nutrition.

If there is a danger of frost, then when shoots appear, they can be "buried" again, - to carry out hilling, completely covering the seedlings with earth. This will not only protect the potato planting from night frosts, but also protect against the first invasion of the Colorado potato beetle.

Potato care

Hilling, loosening, weeding, feeding and, if necessary, watering - these are the main agrotechnical measures for caring for potatoes, which will create good conditions for harvesting a large harvest.

Potatoes love nutritious, loose, breathable soil. Therefore, for the normal development of plants and an increase in productivity, this crop must be hilled several times per season. Hilling should be done with a hoe or hand hoe, preferably after rain or after watering, so that the ground is moist and fluffy.

Hilling contributes to the appearance of additional stolons (in potatoes, these are underground modified parts of the stems, on which tubers will begin to form after a certain time.) This simple agronomic technique will increase the yield by 25-30%. Especially in need of hilling early potato varieties, in which the tuberization period is very fast and intensive.

Hilling is especially important in the initial period of growth as a measure of protecting early plantings from return frosts. Young plants at the beginning of growth are very sensitive to frost: already at -1 - -3 ° C, the tops turn black. Therefore, as shoots appear, and if frost is likely, it is recommended to spud potatoes with a "head".

This technique will not only save plantings from frost, but will also enhance the development of the root system of plants, which means it will contribute to the growth of the yield.

Potato flowers
Potato flowers

If there is no threat of frost in your area, then the first hilling is done when the tops grow 20-25 cm. Plants are hilled using soil from row spacing, so that the tops of the tops of several centimeters high remain above the ground. After 2-3 weeks, re-hilling is carried out.

Another necessary measure for caring for potatoes is top dressing, which is usually carried out three times per season. Early dressings especially favorably affect the formation of tubers, their keeping quality and taste.

The first is carried out during the growth of the tops, if the bushes develop poorly and have pale green thin stems and pale yellow small leaves. To prepare a solution for 10 liters of water, take 15-20 g of urea and 0.5 liters of mullein or bird droppings. Contribute at the rate of 0.5 liters for each bush.

The second feeding is carried out during budding. In 10 liters of water, 30-60 g of potassium sulfate and 200 g of wood ash are diluted and applied at the same rate as in the first feeding: 0.5 liters for each bush.

The third top dressing is applied during flowering. 30-60 g of superphosphate and 15-20 g of nitrophosphate are dissolved in 10 liters of water. Introduce 0.5 liters under each bush.

During the growing season, during regular hilling and loosening, weeds are removed. About a month after emergence, the tops close up so tightly that only the strongest weed species survive in its shade.

The tops provide nourishment for the growing tubers, so they cannot be cut or shortened. But potato flowers, which absorb nutrients to a large extent, should be cut off in order to direct nutrition to the tubers, increasing their mass.

Potatoes should be watered rarely, but abundantly, in order to wet the soil layer to a depth of 40-50 cm or at the rate of 10-15 liters per adult bush. For good yields, do three waterings: after emergence, during budding, and after flowering.

Reproduction

Potatoes are usually propagated with tubers. Often, in Russian gardens, they use whatever they have to plant, up to the degenerate seed material of long-term use or ware potatoes bought in a vegetable store. Even with good feeding, high yields cannot be expected from such planting material. Moreover, with such material, you can bring potato diseases to the site, from which it is almost impossible to get rid of.

For planting, it is best to buy potatoes from nurseries or specialty stores. As a rule, they sell certified high-quality seed potatoes of the first reproduction, free from viruses and the most dangerous diseases and pests. Naturally, the cost of this kind of planting material is higher than usual, but only due to its purity it gives an increase in yield over the course of about five years, gradually re-infecting itself. After that, you need to acquire healthy material again.

Potato tubers
Potato tubers

By purchasing tubers of high reproduction, the productivity of varieties can be maintained annually by simple methods of seed production. Throughout the summer, observe the potato field and mark with a piece of bright cloth well-developed, powerful bushes without signs of disease, with typical characteristics of the variety, outstripping their neighbors in growth and development. When digging young potatoes, bypass the marked bushes so that potential seed does not end up on the table. For seed purposes, tubers weighing 60-80 g are selected. Such tubers quickly form a root system, helping plants to better tolerate adverse conditions.

Cleaning and storing potatoes

If desired, you can have your potatoes to the table long before the full harvest. From the moment of flowering, i.e. from about mid-June, on loose soils, large tubers are separated by hand and used for food. On heavy soils, the tubers are removed from the ground, carefully digging in the bushes.

Early maturing potato varieties ripen in 60 days. In central Russia, they are usually harvested in the first half of July, at the first signs of yellowing of the lower leaves. Harvesting of mid-early, mid - season and late varieties is carried out when the tops dry up and dry: mid - early - in August; mid-season and mid-late varieties - at the end of August-September.

7-10 days before harvesting, the tops are mowed, as a result of which there is an outflow of nutrients from the tops to the tubers. This contributes to their better ripening, the rapid formation of a strong peel, and increases safety. Healthy tops can be used for compost. However, at the slightest suspicion of the presence of diseases in the tops, it is better to burn it.

The land can be used as a storehouse for un-dug potatoes for 2-3 weeks. It is better to dig potatoes with a garden pitchfork or a shovel from the aisle side, trying not to damage the tubers. After digging up, it is recommended to wash the potatoes with a brush and dry them: clean tubers are better stored. Then put in bags or boxes and put away in a cold storage place.

When growing potatoes for winter storage, it is recommended to take varieties with medium and medium late ripening periods, the growing season of which is on average 110-115 days. These varieties tend to have higher yields, and the potatoes themselves are tastier due to the higher percentage of starch contained in the tubers.

When harvesting, tubers are selected for seeds from the most productive and healthy bushes. In this case, seed potatoes are immediately placed in a separate container. Seed potatoes are considered to be medium from a good bush or best from a bad one. If such selection is not carried out, then in 4-5 years any new healthy bush will degenerate.

Potato variety 'Amandine'
Potato variety 'Amandine'

Varieties

Potato varieties are divided into early, mid-early, mid-maturing, mid-late and late, depending on how many days after planting you can start digging tubers:

  • early - after 50–65 days.
  • medium early - in 65–80 days.
  • mid-season - in 80–95 days.
  • medium late - in 95-110 days.
  • later - after 110 or more days.

Early varieties

  • Timo is the earliest variety for table use. Can be grown in all regions. Very tasty. Stores well. Resistant to potato cancer.
  • Impala is an early ripe table variety. It is popular due to its stable high yield in the Central and Southern regions of Russia. Tubers 90–150 g, with a smooth yellow skin and small eyes. The pulp is light yellow, tasty. Keeping quality is excellent. Resistant to potato crayfish and potato golden nematode.
  • Red Scarlet. One of the finest red table varieties. Widely distributed in the Central and Southern regions of Russia. Tubers are large, 85–120 g, beautiful, with smooth red skin, small eyes and yellow flesh. They do not darken with mechanical damage, do not change color after cooking. The variety tolerates drought well. Resistant to potato cancer, potato golden nematode, late blight, leaf curling and viral diseases.
  • Antonina. Zoned across the West Siberian region. The tuber is oval, the flesh is light yellow. Stored well, keeping quality in favorable conditions is 95%.
  • Strong guy. Zoned in the Central Region. Oval tubers are covered with a smooth yellow skin, the flesh is creamy. Stored very well, keeping quality - 97%.
  • Kholmogorsky. Zoned across the Northern region. The tuber is oval, the skin is smooth red, the flesh is light yellow. Keeping quality is 93%.

Medium early varieties

  • Visa. Zoned in the Northern and Volgo-Vyatka regions. The tuber is oval-rounded, the peel is smooth red, the flesh is light yellow. Keeping quality - 89%.
  • Odysseus. Zoned in the Central and Central Black Earth regions. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin is yellow, the flesh is yellow. Keeping quality is 93%.
  • Russian souvenir. Zoned across the Middle Volga and North Caucasian regions. The tuber is oval, the skin is yellow, the flesh is creamy. Keeping quality is 92%.

Mid-season varieties

  • Peter's riddle. Zoned in the Northern, North-Western and Far Eastern regions. The tuber is elongated-oval, the skin is smooth red, the flesh is creamy. Starch content - 10-12.5%. Keeping quality - 94%.
  • Gingerbread man. Zoned in the Central Region. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin and flesh are yellow. Stores well: keeping quality - 98%.
  • Pyrol. Zoned in the Central Region. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin is yellow, the flesh is yellow. Productivity - 118-227 kg / ha. Keeping quality is very high - 98%.

Medium late varieties

  • Zhuravinka. Zoned in the Central Region. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin is red, the flesh is light yellow. Keeping quality is 93%.
  • Saturn. Zoned in the Central Region. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin is yellow, the flesh is light yellow. Keeping quality - 89%.
  • Seagull. Zoned across the Volga-Vyatka region. The tuber is oval-rounded, the skin is yellow, the flesh is light yellow. Keeping quality 92%.

Late-ripening varieties

The surplus. Zoned in the Central Region. The tuber is elongated-oval, the skin is red, the flesh is white. The starch content is 19.2-25.4%. Keeping quality - 88%

Prevention of potato pests and diseases

Dozens of types of pests and diseases damage potatoes. Of the pests, the most dangerous is the Colorado potato beetle, whose adults and larvae destroy the leaves. Wireworms and potato and stem nematodes also do great harm to this crop. Tubers damaged by wireworms are poorly stored and of little use for food. Aphids and other sucking pests suck out the juice from the leaves, transfer them from diseased plants to healthy, dangerous diseases.

Diseases, especially diseases such as late blight, rhizoctonia, common scab, black leg, dry and wet rot and some others, cause greater damage to the crop and quality of potatoes. Affected plants stop developing, and tubers are poorly stored and even die. In potatoes, the content of valuable nutrients decreases, its taste and marketability deteriorates, and keeping quality decreases.

Potatoes
Potatoes

Unfortunately, there are no effective means of controlling potato pests and diseases. The use of pesticides is associated with a deterioration in the quality of edible potatoes. Moreover, chemicals can harm human health and the environment.

That is why the most important in the system of measures for protecting potatoes is the timely implementation of preventive measures that prevent the introduction and development of pathogens and pests on plants and in the soil. Potato diseases are mainly spread with planting material. Only certified high quality seed potatoes of the first reproduction are guaranteed to be free from viruses and the most dangerous diseases and pests.

The causative agents of many diseases accumulate in the soil, especially when potatoes are grown for a long time in one place. For this reason, for the prevention of any pests and diseases, it is of great importance to observe crop rotation with the return of potatoes to their original place not earlier than in 3-4 years. The quality of planting tubers and crop rotation are the two most important conditions without which it is impossible to achieve good results.

Diseases and pests

Wireworm

Lives in the ground and damages stolons, roots, base of stems and especially tubers. The larvae of click beetles pass through the tuber, forming passages, which often leads to its decay. This pest has a yellow or light brown very hard cylindrical body 15 - 25 mm long, 1 - 2 mm in diameter. He has three pairs of legs of the same size and a flat head. One generation grows for 3 - 5 years. Due to the bright color, the larvae are easily detected when digging the soil. They are collected and destroyed.

Most often, the wireworm is found among wheatgrass, where it finds a lot of food for itself. This evil weed must be destroyed. Pest larvae also accumulate in heaps of manure mixed with sawdust and shavings. The harmfulness of the wireworm increases in dry weather. If there is a lack of moisture, the potatoes should be watered. In the fight against this pest, you can use a bait - slices of potatoes or carrots, laid out in the aisles. As soon as pests accumulate on them, they are collected and burned in kerosene. Early autumn digging of soil helps in the fight against wireworm. Deep loosening in the spring and summer period contributes to the destruction of larvae. Liming of acidic soils has an effective effect.

See material: Wireworm - a merciless pest of potatoes

Colorado beetle

Damages vegetative organs and potato tubers. Beetles and larvae eat leaves and sometimes young shoots. The pest penetrates into the western and southern regions of the Leningrad region, severely damages plants in the southwest of the Non-Chernozem zone. The beetle has a convex short-oval shape, yellow color with five stripes. There are dark spots on the head. Its length is 7 - 12 mm, width is 4.5 - 8 mm. On the underside of the leaf, the beetle lays from 2 to 70 oval eggs of light orange color. In the first stage of development, the larva of the pest is dark gray, then it becomes red, red-orange and ultimately orange-yellowish. Pupa yellow-whitish, 9-10 mm long, 6-6.5 mm wide. Hot weather is most favorable for the development of this insect. The pupa of the Colorado potato beetle is similar to that of a ladybug. They differ in that the first is mobile,and the second is at rest.

The best way to deal with this pest in home gardens is to collect and destroy beetles and larvae. Collect them in jars of kerosene or concentrated table salt. Eggs are destroyed at the same time. With a strong spread of the pest, the areas are sprayed with 80% technical chlorophos at a dose of 20 - 30 g per 10 liters of water. Finish spraying 30 days before harvest. Three-fold processing of plantings with a dilor is effective at the rate of 3 - 6 g of the drug per 10 liters of water. The last time pesticides are used no later than 20 days before harvesting.

See the material: Methods of dealing with the Colorado potato beetle

Nematode

A dangerous pest. It parasitizes potato roots and tubers. It is an almost microscopic organism from the roundworm class. Its size is less than 1 mm. It also lives on weeds - black nightshade and henbane. Affected potato plants are stunted, the leaves turn yellow, shrivel. Tubers are formed small or not at all. Roots develop poorly.

Insects intensively suck sap from plant cells, depleting and damaging them with toxins. By the end of the growing season of potatoes, from the bodies of dying females, spherical cysts of dark brown color 1 mm in size are formed. They are filled with thousands of nematode eggs and larvae. With long-term cultivation of potatoes in one area, this pest accumulates in the soil and causes massive damage to the crop. Eggs and larvae retain their viability for up to 10 years. The pest is spread by damaged tubers, contaminated soil, as well as by people carrying eggs and insect larvae with shoes and clothing.

An effective measure for controlling potato nematode is the immediate removal of damaged plants. They are carefully dug up together with the tubers and the adjacent soil, placed in a container and taken out to the edge of the plot. The tubers are thoroughly cleaned of soil and washed. Plants with roots are burned or buried in a hole to a depth of 1 m, treating them with urea at a dose of 3-5 kg of the drug per 1 cubic meter. m. mass.

Planting potatoes
Planting potatoes

The greatest damage to the yield and quality of potatoes in many areas of the zone is caused by diseases, especially such as late blight, dry and wet rot, rhizoctonia, macrosporosis, ring rot and some others. Affected plants stop growing early, and tubers are poorly stored and even die. The content of valuable nutrients in potatoes decreases, its taste and marketability deteriorate.

Late blight

The most common fungal disease in potatoes. Affects leaves, stems and tubers. When a pathogen enters the leaves, small brown spots appear. Growing up, they destroy the entire plant. The fungus enters the tubers during the harvesting period when they come into contact with the affected parts of plants and the soil, as well as during storage. On their surface, brownish-grayish depressed spots are formed. The inside of the fabric is painted in a rusty-brown color. The disease spreads in humid, moderately warm weather.

To prevent disease, after harvesting, all affected plant residues are removed and destroyed from the site, and only healthy tubers are selected before planting. During the growing season, when the first signs of the disease appear, the plants are sprayed with a 90% solution of copper oxychloride and 80% polychrome, at the rate of 40 g per 10 liters of water, processing up to 5 times per season. The last processing is carried out no later than 20 days before harvest. You can also use a Bordeaux mixture: 100 g of copper sulfate and 100 g of lime, diluted in 10 liters of water. This drug is treated no more than 3 times per season. Last sprayed 15 days before harvest.

If there is a danger of severe damage to the vegetative organs of plants, 2 weeks before harvesting, the tops are mowed. To reduce tuber disease, it is recommended to do so at the onset of the disease. Reducing crop losses from late blight is facilitated by the use of relatively resistant potato varieties for planting - Temp, Gatchinsky, Olev, etc.

Rhizoctonia

A fungal disease called blackleg. The disease affects the roots, tubers and the base of the stems, causing the plants to gradually wither. On the surface of the affected tubers, dark warts, small and sometimes depressed wet spots appear. Damage to the eyes is especially dangerous. Tubers with damaged eyes do not germinate. In wet years, a white bloom sometimes appears on the base of the stems.

To prevent the disease, the tubers are germinated in the light, the unaffected ones are selected for planting, only rotted manure and increased doses of potash fertilizers are used, they carefully care for the plantings and periodically change the sites. After harvesting, plant residues are removed and burned.

Common scab. Affects tubers. Warts and sores appear on them, sometimes completely covering the surface. Affected tubers are worse stored, their presentation decreases and waste increases during cleaning. Scab spreads through contaminated soil and tubers. The disease increases with excessive liming, that is, in an alkaline environment, as well as when too large doses of organic fertilizers are applied directly to the hole. Good results are obtained by a timely change of crops on the site and the use of varieties that are relatively resistant to scab - Olev, Detskoselsky, Ora, Berlichingen, etc.

Dry rot

A widespread disease causing significant damage to potatoes. The disease is transmitted during storage of diseased or mechanically damaged tubers. Its development is facilitated by increased doses of nitrogen fertilizers, including excess manure. In places of lesion, dark brown spots are formed, soft to the touch. Wrinkled concentric folds with differently colored pads are observed. With this disease, the tubers often die completely. To reduce morbidity, it is necessary to carefully select healthy tubers, dry and store in dry rooms at a temperature of 0 … 2 degrees.

Wet rot

The disease manifests itself during storage. When affected, the potato softens and moistens, turning into a slimy mass of dark brown or pink color with an unpleasant odor. In the storage facility, the disease is more often observed in the upper layer (20 - 25 cm), where high air humidity remains. The disease intensifies with sharp temperature fluctuations, increased air humidity, hypothermia or freezing of tubers, mechanical damage, as well as when they are infected with other diseases - brown bacterial rot, black leg, late blight, scab, ring rot. To prevent the disease, it is necessary to remove the products in a timely and careful manner, carefully select healthy planting material and maintain an optimal storage regime.

Macrosporiasis

It affects the leaves, stems and tubers of potatoes. Leaves are covered with dry concentric brown spots. The tissue in these places collapses and crumbles in dry weather, as a result of which holes of different sizes are formed. With a strong defeat, the leaf blade turns yellow and dries up. On the affected stems, oblong grayish-brown dry spots appear, penetrating deep into the tissue. On tubers, the disease manifests itself in the form of black, slightly depressed spots of various shapes. The eyes die, dry and wet rot develops. The disease is transmitted through affected plant debris and tubers, so they must be removed and destroyed. Only healthy material is used for planting. During the growing season, plants are sprayed with chlorophos no more than 3 times at the rate of 40-60 g per 10 liters of water. Processing is stopped 30 days before harvest.

Potato cancer

The disease affects tubers, root collar, stems and leaves. On the aboveground organs, growths are formed in the form of corals 10 - 12 cm in size, painted in green. On tubers and stolons, the disease is found in the form of a white growth, gradually darkening and greatly increasing in size, often resembling a cauliflower head in shape. This disease is a quarantine object. Infection with the pathogen can persist in soil for up to 30 years. It spreads through infected tubers and soil at high humidity and moderate soil temperatures (14 … 18 degrees).

The most effective means of combating the disease is the cultivation of cancer-resistant varieties - Priekulsky early, Falensky, Vesna, Detskoselsky, Gatchinsky, Sulev, Olev, Shpekula, etc. Potatoes must not be planted on infected areas for 5-6 years. Containers and tools must be thoroughly washed and treated with pesticides, and the affected plant residues and tubers must be burned.

Blackleg

The disease usually manifests itself soon after germination. In the affected plants, leaves turn yellow and curl. The underside of the stem and roots will rot and turn black. Such plants are easily pulled out. With late lesions, airy green tubers form in the axils of the lower leaves. In tubers, in the places where they attach to the stolons, the tissue darkens, turning into a slimy mass with an unpleasant odor, the peel cracks. Infection occurs at high air and soil humidity through diseased plant debris. Lack of moisture and hot weather inhibit infection. The disease can manifest itself when storing tubers or after planting them.

To reduce the disease with a black leg, the affected plant debris is removed from the site. The potato planting site is periodically changed and only healthy tubers are selected for these purposes, and diseased plants are promptly removed during the growing season. Before storing, potatoes should be dried in the light and stored at the optimum temperature and low humidity. The use of relatively resistant varieties is effective - Olev, Ideal, Berlichingen, etc.

Ring rot

Affects potato tubers. First, pink or brown spots and cracks appear, then the vascular system becomes infected, acquiring a yellow color, clearly visible on the cut. Later, with the development of harmful microorganisms, the affected areas darken, gradually spreading to the entire tuber.

Infection with the pathogen is transmitted through infected tubers at high temperatures and moderate soil moisture. Bacteria develop slowly, therefore, they do not always show their pathogenicity in the year of planting, strongly affecting the plants of the next season.

To protect potatoes from this disease, it is necessary to carefully select healthy tubers, disinfect storage facilities, apply moderate doses of nitrogen and use varieties that are more resistant to ring rot - Ideal, Berlichingen, etc.

Mottling

Potato leaves and tubers are affected. The leaf blade of diseased plants is colored unevenly. The disease greatly reduces the yield and deteriorates the quality of tubers. To protect plants from this disease, tubers from apparently healthy plants are used for planting. Planting during the summer is protected from aphids, bedbugs and cicadas, which are carriers of viruses.

Striped mosaic

Viral disease. It strongly affects plants and reduces the yield of tubers. It manifests itself on the veins of the underside of leaves and stems in the form of longitudinal stripes. The disease leads to early aging and death of plants. It can only be avoided by using healthy planting material and protecting the plantings from insects - carriers of viruses.

Gothic (tuber fusiform). A common disease. In infected plants, the leaves are located at an acute angle to the stem and decrease in size. The leaf blade becomes rough. The disease affects the formation of tubers, which acquire a fusiform shape. The fight against this disease of potatoes is reduced to the acquisition of healthy planting material, free from viruses and other diseases, and careful protection of plantings from the introduction of infection from other sites.

Functional diseases

They arise with a lack of certain elements of mineral nutrition. They impair the growth and development of plants, reduce the yield and quality of tubers, but are easily eliminated if the symptoms of the disease are detected at an early stage and the necessary measures are taken in time. Most often, physiological diseases appear with improper storage of potatoes, excessive soil moisture and extreme temperature conditions.

Lack of nitrogen causes blanching, yellowing, and sometimes death of leaf lobes. Plants form weak, with thin and short stems and small leaves. To eliminate this disadvantage, 2 - 3 fertilizing with a solution of nitrogen fertilizers is performed. Slurry, ammonium nitrate and urea are especially effective. They are introduced at the beginning of plant development at intervals of 2 - 3 weeks. On poor soils, it is effective to add a little potassium and phosphorus to the solution. In the first feeding, they give 15 - 20 g of nitrogen fertilizers with the addition of 10 - 15 g of potassium salt and superphosphate, in the second - the dose of all elements is increased by 20 - 30%. Starting from the third feeding, it is advisable to switch to applying only potassium.

We are definitely waiting for your secrets of growing potatoes!

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