Growing Potatoes From Seeds. Photo

Potatoes are the most common vegetable in the garden. Recently, the area under his planting has decreased, although early varieties are still grown in almost every summer cottage. In one place, potatoes can be grown for 6-9 years, but gradually, if not harvests, then the quality of tubers will sharply decrease due to soil fatigue and the accumulation of pathogenic microflora. In this case, changing potato varieties does not help much, because they consume the same elements to form the crop and often already carry pathogenic microflora in the planting material (an unpleasant putrefactive smell, black circles on the tuber cut, etc.). And, buying varietal planting material, there is no guarantee of its quality.

A way out of this situation may be the technology of growing potatoes from biological seeds. They are formed by an apical loose brush with flowers of white-pink colors. The fruit is a berry, at first light green, dark brown and other colors when fully ripe. The seeds are small brown.

Content:

• Benefits of potato seed propagation
• Disadvantages of potato seed propagation
• Features of growing potatoes from biological seeds
• Seedless method of growing potatoes from biological seeds
• Seedling method of growing potatoes from biological seeds
• Top dressing of potato seedlings
• Protection of potato seedlings from diseases and pests
• Harvesting and laying potato nodules for storage
• Potato varieties for seed propagation

Benefits of potato seed propagation

• Potato seeds purchased in specialized stores do not contain pathogenic viruses and bacteria. They have been specially selected and processed. They are immune to disease.
• They are characterized by resistance to changing environmental conditions. They quickly adapt to the climatic characteristics of the region and form high yields of healthy tubers within 5-7 years.
• The cost of potato seeds is several times cheaper than tubers, since there are no costs for transportation, storage, processing of tubers before planting in the field.
• Potato seeds remain viable for 5-6 years.

Disadvantages of potato seed propagation

• Attention and patience are required, especially when growing potato seedlings and care in the first weeks after planting in the ground (in the field, in a greenhouse, under a shelter).
• Two-year growing period. In the first year we get potato seedlings (nodules 20-40 g), and the harvest of real tubers for table use is formed only from the second year from potato seedlings.

Features of growing potatoes from biological seeds

Potatoes propagate vegetatively (whole tubers and parts thereof, cuttings, layering) and seed. Until recent years, potatoes were propagated by tubers. An alternative to the current situation is the possibility of obtaining high-quality yields of potato tubers during seed reproduction, which can be carried out by seedless and seedling methods.

Seedless method of growing potatoes from biological seeds

In the southern regions, seed potatoes can be grown directly in the open field. Self-cultivation of seeds has certain difficulties, so it is easier to buy ready-made in specialized stores.

Soil preparation

Potatoes are a light-loving culture and light areas are usually allocated for its placement. In the shade, the bushes stretch out, and the tubers form small.

The best precursors for potatoes are early-harvested legumes (peas), corn, beets, vegetables (not nightshade). In the fall, after harvesting, we free the allotted area from weeds, dig it up on a shovel bayonet. If the soil is susceptible to acidification, then for digging we bring in a glass of lime, dolomite flour or 2-3 glasses of wood ash per sq. m area. We grind the digging and sow siderates, which after 5-8 weeks can be embedded in the soil (peas, barley, rye, mustard, rapeseed) and fully prepared for spring sowing.

With a non-subsidized preparation for the autumn digging, we bring in per sq. m 0.5-1.0 bucket of humus, compost. If there is no humus, then in the spring, under 15 cm cultivation, we apply mineral fertilizers. The easiest way is to use a balanced mineral fertilizer nitrofoskoy at the rate of 30-40 g / sq. m area. We level the soil surface, freeing it from the soil crust.

Preparing potato seeds for sowing

To obtain faster germination, potato seeds are awakened from dormancy by pre-sowing heating in a humid chamber at +40.. + 42 ºС for no more than 15-20 minutes. You can additionally treat the seeds with microelements if they were not treated in the seed preparation center.

Dry the treated potato seeds at room temperature until flowing and sow dry in the soil or put on germination. In a saucer on a wet napkin, scatter the seeds evenly, cover with a damp napkin on top and place in a warm place. It can be near the battery or on a warm windowsill. We constantly moisturize the napkins. After 3-5 days, the nailed potato seeds are ready for sowing.

Sowing potato seeds in open ground

In the first or second decade of May, when the soil in a layer of 10 cm warms up to +14.. + 16 ºС, we loosen the bed allocated for sowing potato seeds again and prepare holes no more than 3-4 cm deep at a distance of 30-40 cm. We lay out 2-3 seeds in each hole and mulch with the same soil or fine mulch 0.5 cm.

Furrows can be used instead of sowing holes. Cut furrows 4-5 cm deep, fill with water. After absorbing water on the soil surface, we sow seeds and mulch by 0.5-1.0 cm. Potato shoots appear on the 5-10th day. Seedlings can be sparse, so we thicken the sowing.

In phase 2 of true leaves, when the aboveground mass of seedlings begins to close, we carry out thinning. Moisten the soil before thinning. Neatly pulled potato seedlings can be planted like seedlings in separate rows or holes 20-25 cm apart.

Potato seedlings grow very slowly at first and suffer from weeds, compaction and dryness of the soil. Therefore, they need constant loosening of the soil, weeding and irrigation with an average rate of water.

After about a month, the potato seedlings will form multi-stem bushes. Further care for them is the same as when planting tubers. The crop is harvested in late September or early October, depending on the variety. The yield may be low (tubers 20-40 g).

We put potato seedlings for storage as a vegetative seed, free from viruses and other pathologies for planting next year.

Seedling method of growing potatoes from biological seeds

Preparing a soil mixture for sowing potato seeds

The soil for sowing potato seeds should be fertile, loose, water and air permeable. The composition of the soil mixture: add 6 parts of turf or 4 parts of high peat and 1 part of sand to 2 parts of the garden (vegetable) land. We mix everything thoroughly and disinfect. Add 10-15 g of nitrophoska and biopreparations trichodermin or phytosporin (10 g / 10 l of water) to the prepared soil mixture for every 10 kg to protect against soil fungal diseases (black leg, root rot).

Stir the mixture and dry at room temperature. Processing the soil mixture with biological products is especially necessary if the soil mixture has not been disinfected. Biological products have the property of destroying pathogenic fungi and contribute to the enhanced reproduction of beneficial microflora. We fill the container with the prepared soil mixture.

Potato seed preparation

To increase the cold resistance of the culture, we subject the potato seeds to hardening, placing them in the refrigerator overnight, and in the afternoon in a warm room. Before sowing, potato seeds are treated with a root formation stimulator, a solution of epin or root. We germinate the processed seeds in the same way as for the seedless growing method. For 3-5 days, the seeds can be sown in containers prepared for seedlings.

Sowing and caring for potato seedlings

For sowing, we use boxes 10 cm high or other containers (cups, cassettes, peat-humus pots). The container must have holes in the bottom for draining excess water. Potato seedlings get sick with root rot from oversaturation with moisture.

In a prepared container, after 10-12 cm, we make furrows with a depth of 1.0-1.5 cm. Place the potato seeds in the furrow after 5 cm. Mulch the sown seeds with the same soil mixture or dry sand and moisten with a sprayer. The moist substrate pulls the seed into the soil mixture. Before the emergence of shoots, we moisten the soil through a spray bottle so as not to wash the seeds out of the soil with a jet of water and not create an excessively moist environment, since the seedlings are easily affected by root rot.

When sowing potato seeds in separate containers, we place them in boxes to facilitate maintenance.

We put containers with sown potato seeds on racks in a heated greenhouse. You can cover it with glass or foil in a living room, create the conditions for a mini-greenhouse, providing an optimal humidity regime and an air temperature of +18.. + 22 ºС. The soil for increasing oxygen supply is systematically loosened.

Potato shoots appear on the 8-10th day. In the phase of 2 true leaves, we make a pick (if necessary), deepening the seedling to the cotyledonous leaves. Seedlings in separate containers (cups and other containers) are not dived. In order for the potato seedlings to be evenly illuminated, we systematically turn the container with seedlings in different directions to the lighting or supplement the lighting.

For better formation of the root system, water the potato seedlings a week after germination with a solution of ammonium nitrate or urea (1 g / 1 l of water at room temperature). After feeding, be sure to wash the seedlings with clean water.

Subsequent fertilizing of potato seedlings before planting in open ground on a permanent basis is carried out every 25-30 days with a complex mineral fertilizer or one of the drugs that are recommended for fertilizing seedlings: Kemira Lux, Agricola, Uniflor Growth, GUMI Kuznetsova, Baikal EM-1 and others. They stimulate the growth of the root system and the aboveground mass, and have fungicidal properties.

Tempering potato seedlings

We temper the potato seedlings 10-12 days before planting in the ground by placing containers with seedlings for 2-6 hours at first, and a week before disembarking we stand around the clock in a cool room (glazed loggia, balcony, unheated corridor).

Planting potato seedlings in open ground

In the southern region, in the second or third decade of May (in the middle and northern zone of the Russian Federation later), we plant 40-55 day potato seedlings in open ground or in a greenhouse.

On prepared garden beds of open ground, we make holes 8-12 cm deep. The distance between the holes depends on the final goal. If we use the planting of the first year to obtain potato seedlings, then we prepare the holes in 25-30 cm. To get potato tubers (for a taste test), we increase the distance between the holes to 40-60 cm, depending on the variety. You can plant 2 seedlings in one hole.

If available and necessary, add 0.5 cups of mature humus, a couple of tablespoons of ash to the holes, mix with the soil, water and, after absorbing water, plant a potato seedling. Potato seedlings usually lodge and break easily. Gently, lying down, lay the seedlings in the hole and cover them with soil so that 2-3 upper true leaves remain on the surface.

Planted potato seedlings can be covered with lutrasil or spandbond from a sudden cold snap or overheating by the rays of the spring sun. Over time, when the seedlings begin to form new leaves, we remove the shelter.

In the first month, watering in small doses is carried out first in 2-3 days, and then we increase the water rate and switch to 1 time per week. We constantly loosen the beds with plants from the soil crust, remove the weeds. Before the bushes close, we mulch the soil after watering. Monthly potato seedlings form multi-stem bushes, and caring for them is no different from caring for a crop planted with tubers.

Top dressing of potato seedlings

During the growing season, we feed potatoes.

• Early varieties of potatoes 1 time in a month after planting in the ground, the phase of formation of tops. We combine top dressing with hilling.
• We feed medium and late varieties of potatoes twice. The first time in the phase of growing tops and the second - mass budding.

The need for the first feeding occurs when the height of the potato seedlings exceeds 10 cm. A mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (chlorine-free forms) fertilizers is prepared in a ratio of 1: 2: 1 or 1: 2: 1.5. You can add nitrophoska, nitroammophoska (30-35 g / bush) to the first feeding.

Some gardeners advise adding a solution of organic fertilizers under the potato root. If humus was brought under the main soil preparation or when planting directly into the holes, then feeding with organic infusion is not needed. Instead, it is better to use a kemira at the rate of 10 g / sq. m. This fertilizer contains trace elements that are so necessary for the formation of the quantity and quality of tubers.

In the second dressing, which coincides with the mass formation of buds, we exclude nitrogen and add potassium sulfate and phosphorus fertilizers in a ratio of 1: 1.5. Potassium enhances tuberization and the delivery of nutrients to the organs of the plant (it is popularly called a cabman). During this period, it is good to add ash (1-2 glasses per square meter) or kemira. Top dressing can also be applied in the form of solutions (10 liters of solution for 15-20 bushes).

The amount and ratio of mineral fertilizers, both in the main application and in top dressing, depends on the type of soil, climatic conditions, potato variety and in each case will be different. Therefore, when preparing for planting potatoes, read the recommendations of the regional agronomists.

To stimulate the outflow of nutrients from the tops to the tubers at the end of flowering, the aboveground mass of potatoes can be treated with a superphosphate solution. Dissolve 20 g of superphosphate in 10 liters of water, insist for 2 days, filter and spray the tops.

Protection of potato seedlings from diseases and pests

When growing potatoes from seeds, the resulting planting material (potato seedlings and tubers in subsequent years) is healthy, but the plants themselves, especially young seedlings, are susceptible to diseases and are damaged by pests, which are found in many in the soil. Therefore, it is necessary to protect potato plants both when growing seedlings (especially if the soil for seedlings has not been disinfected) and in the ground when planting it permanently.

Of the diseases, potatoes are most often affected by fusarium, late blight, scab, tuber cancer, root and tuber rot and other diseases.

Of the pests, the Colorado potato beetle, bear, wireworm, aphid, potato scoop, quarantine pests, potato cyst nematode, potato moth and others are considered especially dangerous. Aphids, in addition to damaging the tops of potatoes, are also a carrier of viruses for which there are no drugs yet.

The chemical industry offers a huge list of drugs to protect against both diseases and pests. But in your household it is unnecessary to use chemicals if you need environmentally friendly products. Recently, biological preparations have been intensively developed that do not harm humans, animals and beneficial insects (bees).

To combat potato diseases, the following biological products are offered: trichodermin, phytolavin, phytosporin, planriz. The latter can be used to treat plants 1-2 days before harvest. For the destruction of pests from biological products, bicol, bitoxibacillin, phytoverin, acarin, boverin and others are recommended. Biopreparations can be used in tank mixtures according to the recommendations, which significantly reduces the load on plants with treatments and labor and time costs.

Harvesting and laying potato nodules for storage

Harvest intended for long-term storage is removed after the tops are completely dry. Potato seedlings are small, so you need to be careful when harvesting. Even 10 g of a trifle will provide a good harvest for the next year. We spread the dug nodules in a dry place (shed, garage, other outbuildings), dry them for 3-5 days, sort by fractions and put them for storage in the basement.

Potato varieties for seed propagation

• Early: Assol, Farmer, Triumph, Empress, Velina, Milena. The harvest of tubers is formed in 50-65 days.
• Medium: Ilona, Ballada, Revenge, Krasa, F1 hybrid Lada. Medium potatoes are harvested after 80-95 days.
• Medium late: Virgo forms a mature crop of tubers in 95-110 days.

The next year we plant the resulting tubers. Remember! For 7 years it is necessary to update the material. To do this, after 5-6 years, we again sow biological seeds and prepare new planting material, free from viruses.