How to grow 2 potato harvest in a season at the cottage - follow the breeders' advice

Due to the vegetative method of reproduction, varieties of potatoes are prone to degeneration. Fungal, bacterial and especially viral diseases, gradually accumulating in tubers, contribute to a drop in yield and deterioration of other valuable characteristics of varieties.

The intensity of degeneration of varieties is primarily determined in large part by the soil-climatic conditions in which they are grown, as well as by varietal characteristics.

As a rule, in southern latitudes, characterized by extreme conditions such as heat, drought and a high infectious background, the degeneration of varieties is more rapid than, for example, in the central and northern regions of Russia.

For example, many potato growers are familiar with this phenomenon, when seed material imported from other areas can completely lose its valuable qualities within a year or two.

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Therefore, when there is a shortage of high-quality seeds, many owners of household plots and dachas either refuse to grow potatoes altogether or cut down areas for planting.

Under the current conditions (we take into account the same climate warming), as one of the solutions, we recommend summer residents - potato growers to use the two-crop potato culture method to obtain high-quality seed material.

In the regions characterized by a long growing season, March-October, (this is the south of Russia, but because of the climate warming already mentioned, this regional range is expanding year by year) in almost one year you can get two potato crops. The first harvest is in the period from March to June, and the second - from July to October. Moreover, the seed material obtained in the second, summer-autumn season, by its conditioning qualities, significantly exceeds the planting material obtained in the first, spring-summer period.

This is explained by the fact that, as is known, the conditions for the growth and development of potatoes affect not only the yield of varieties, but also the high quality of tubers. As a rule, the better these conditions, the higher the quality of the tubers, and vice versa.

In the spring and summer, when the first harvest is obtained, critical factors such as heat and drought not only reduce the yield of varieties, but also sharply impair the seed quality of the tubers. That is, the process of ecological degeneration of potato varieties is observed.

In the period of obtaining the second, summer-autumn harvest climatic conditions are greatly improved. Closer to September, when the responsible phase of the ripening of tubers of potatoes begins, the heat decreases significantly, the light day is shortened and seasonal rains begin to go.

All these factors generally have a positive effect on the growth and development of plants and significantly improve the seed quality of tubers.

For example, the method of two-crop potato varieties, like Mike and American, is very popular at the time of its existence in the Krasnodar Territory (for comparative characteristics, see table 1). About other heat-resistant and drought resistant potato varieties you can read here.

It is well known that these varieties include such valuable features as high plasticity and yield, good taste qualities of tubers, resistance to degeneration, etc. However, as a result of prolonged (more than 25 years) permanent cultivation in the Kuban, these varieties significantly reduced yields and other economically useful signs worsened.

For example 2000 year for these varieties, we received two crops at once: the first: in the period March-June, the second: June-October.

Productivity of seed tubers of potato varieties Mike and American, depending on the period of their reproduction in the cultivation of two potato yields
Grade	Period of reproduction of the seed	Number of tubers per bush, pcs.	Commodity tubers,%	Productivity, centner / ha
Singlet	spring-summer	8-11	75	112
Singlet	summer-autumn	5-7	91	178
American	spring-summer	12-16	52	71
American	autumn	8-11	66	127

As can be seen from the table, for both varieties, the seeds obtained in the second, summer-autumn period of the growing season of the two-crop crop, both in yield and in the marketability of the tubers, considerably exceed the seed material obtained in the first, spring-summer period of vegetation.

These results prove that in the southern zones where there is a rapid degeneration of varieties, the method of a two-crop crop can be successfully used to produce high-quality seed material.

It should be noted that in Ukraine (in the Odessa, Mykolayiv, Kherson, and Krymsk regions, which are also characterized by a hot and arid climate), a two-crop crop has been used for more than 25 years for the practical purposes of seed production.

The success of using the method of two-crop culture depends on two factors: the effectiveness of overcoming the period of rest of young unripe tubers and choosing the right variety.

As is known, most potato varieties, in contrast to some wild species, are characterized by a dormancy period of tubers, which, depending on the variety and environmental conditions, can last from 2 to 6 months or more. This feature has evolved in the course of evolution and serves to keep the tubers in high winter life before the onset of the onset of optimal development conditions.

For practical use of the two-crop method in growing potatoes, it is of great interest to artificially interrupt the period of dormancy of tubers, that is, to create conditions in which young immature tubers, without a period of rest, begin to germinate immediately.

Currently, various chemicals are used for these purposes. The best effect is achieved by the joint use of gibberellic acid (4 mg / l) and thiourea (20 g / l).

In practice, the two-crop culture is carried out in the following sequence.

Between March and June, using the comb technology, the first harvest of potatoes is obtained. On 15-20 June, young unripened tubers are dug and sorted into three fractions: fine (20-30 g), medium (up to 50 g) and large (over 50 g).

On the same day, an aqueous solution of gibberellin with thiourea is prepared, used to remove young tubers from the resting state. For this, in a tank of volume 30 l pour water and first dissolve 600 g thiourea. After this, 50 mg of gibberellin is preliminary dissolved in 120 ml of alcohol and this solution is added to the tank in a solution of thiourea.

Then the tubers are packed into the nets and for 1 hours are treated with the prepared solution. Longer exposure of potato tubers in solution is not recommended, as this leads to a negative effect.

From the organizational point of view, cleaning, preplanting and planting of young tubers is best conducted on the same day. In extreme cases, landing can be carried out on 5-7 day after processing, but not later.

For example, for the Krasnodar Territory the optimal planting time for obtaining a second, summer-autumn harvest - from 15 to 25 June. Later planting can lead to the fact that the plants can not complete the vegetation, and this will lead to a shortage of harvest.

As planting material, young tubers of all fractions can be used. But. as a rule, they overcome the dormant period faster and form a higher yield of large tubers. A small fraction of tubers is planted according to the scheme 60 × 15 cm, and medium and large - 60 × 25 cm.

Cultivation of the first, spring-summer, and second, summer-autumn, harvest can be carried out using the same comb technology.

In June, when the young tubers are planted, heat and drought are usually observed. Therefore, it is very important at this time to receive quick and friendly shoots regularly, after a week, to water. With the approach of autumn and the beginning of seasonal rains, watering can be stopped.

To protect the planting of potatoes from the defeat of late blight in the autumn rainy days, you can use Bordeaux fluid, as well as arceride, ridomil and other fungicides.

The harvesting of the second crop is started on time, when the tops of the soil are killed by the first autumn frosts. As a rule, during this period the soil is waterlogged, and after drying the tubers must be well dried in a warm room and under the same conditions, then stored until the spring planting.

However, not all potato varieties can be equally used in a two-crop culture. Many of them, even with the use of gibberellin and other growth-regulating substances, it is very difficult or not at all to overcome the period of rest of young immature tubers. Therefore, these varieties can not be used in a two-crop culture.

The experience of growing 2 potato varieties on the site was tested on several varieties of potatoes of domestic (Zhukovsky early, Nevsky, Sparrow, Reserve, Kalinka, Bezhitsky, Mike), Dutch (Desiree, Cleopatra, Romano, Escort, Sante, Raj, Cardinal, Nikita), German (Adretta - read more about it here: Cultivation of grade Adretta in the country) and Danish (Folva) breeding.

Of these, positive results were obtained only on varieties Zhukovsky early, Nevsky, Mike, Desiree and Nikita. The remaining varieties showed a negative result.

Therefore, for varieties that are very difficult to overcome the dormancy period of young unripe tubers, as a way out of the situation, we recommend using the same "old" seeds from last year's harvest for planting both summer and autumn harvests as planting material. Then there is no problem of overcoming the rest period of the tubers.

The only requirement: in order to prevent seed germination during storage from spring to summer plantings, they must be kept in a germinated state under favorable conditions of low positive temperatures (8-12 degrees).

When using young seedlings of the first harvest for summer purposes, both the yield and seed quality of the tubers will be much higher than when using old tubers from last year's harvest.

But in any case, in the conditions of the same Krasnodar region, the seed material obtained in the summer-autumn period, by its qualities, considerably exceeds the seeds obtained in the spring-summer period.

The lower productivity of varieties in the second, summer-autumn period of vegetation is explained by the fact that with the arrival of early frosts in October and the premature death of the tops of the variety, they do not have time to fully complete their growing season.

On the whole, it can be concluded that in the southern zones where the rapid degeneration of varieties is observed in extreme heat and drought conditions, the method of a two-crop potato crop can be successfully used to obtain high-quality planting material both in small household plots and in farms.

Add to the note dachniku:
The most delicious potatoes that you decide to put aside for seeds, after digging out, should be left for a couple of weeks to light so that it turns green. This simple procedure will reduce tuber losses during winter storage.

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