Planting Potato Seed Tubers

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Autumn is a hot season for gardeners. As soon as possible, while there are no lingering rains and frosts, you need to dig out the potatoes. But now the crop has been harvested, now the main task is to preserve it before planting. But you cannot put tubers in the storage directly from the field.

The treatment period for tubers begins immediately after harvesting the potatoes. It is especially needed for seed tubers that are stored for 7-8 months. The treatment period is very effective if unfavorable conditions develop during the growing season and harvesting. Thanks to the treatment period, you can avoid all kinds of troubles associated with rotting tubers, loss of their mass, the development of foci of decay and re-infection of tubers.

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Studies have shown that the weight loss of seed potatoes without a treatment period is 10-15%, with a treatment period - 5-6%. Tubers that had no treatment period began to germinate early, their sprouts reached 20-24.5% of the mass of tubers, while in tubers that had passed the treatment period, only 2-3%. The losses were even less if the tubers were planted before storage.

To do this, freshly harvested potatoes intended for seeds are scattered in 1-2 layers directly on the site in dry warm weather, and in bad weather - under a canopy and turn over every day or two. After 10-15 days, a tuber is taken for a sample and cut in half: if the pulp is green, the process is over. Such potatoes tolerate winter storage well. It should be noted that this applies only to the seed part of the tubers; ware potatoes cannot be left in the open for a long time.

What happens to the tuber during the gardening process? Under the influence of light, the content of glucoditesolanin increases, an excellent antiseptic against fungal and putrefactive diseases, which allows the tubers to be stored for a long time without bulkhead. Moreover, when planted in spring, even in the cold period, green tubers that have passed the treatment period do not rot and give friendly healthy shoots. Green potatoes go through all stages of development faster than regular ones. Plants shorten their growing season by 10-12 days. For the same period, there can be an accelerated receipt of fresh potatoes. Plants next year are less affected by late blight.

The yield of early potato varieties Udacha, Timo, Nevsky and others increases by 60-80 kg per hundred square meters during landscaping and the treatment period; mid-season varieties Golubizna, Vestnik, Lorkh and others - 90-100 kg per hundred square meters. Every potato grower will calculate that with a small cost, the benefits are significant.