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HOW TO HEALTH POTATO SEED

Yes, this topic will never get old, because potatoes are called the second bread for a reason. We rarely have a vegetable garden without potatoes. Today we dedicate a whole tab to this culture, so familiar and at the same time full of wonders and mysteries.

OBVIOUS SIGNS

Much has been written about the quality (health) of seed tubers, but there is still no consensus. Some argue that high-quality tubers can only be obtained in scientific organizations and nurseries. The second are sure: not only in them! A similar result can be achieved in the conditions of suburban areas.

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I belong to the second group. Elite mini-tubers are obtained at the Research Institute from nodules grown from potato meristem in test tubes. The price is outrageous. Nurseries receive seed tubers of the first (rarely elite) quality category, which can be ordered from intermediaries through the "goods-by-mail" system or in online stores.

For pensioners, this is an expensive pleasure. I subscribed for five years and refused. Why buy tubers of the first category (reproductions) of quality, if they can be obtained using known methods of rejuvenating planting material?

I began to conduct the first experiments on the improvement of tubers in 2007 and continue to this day. At the first stages, I had absolutely no idea that it was possible in some way to improve the quality of seed tubers. And that this quality, in turn, will affect the quality of all potatoes produced. Now I understand the essence of the process of degeneration of the potato variety, studied all its signs and know exactly when it is necessary to carry out rehabilitation. Now I want to share my experience with readers.

I will not touch the process of degeneration, this is a vast topic - no letter is enough. But signs of degeneration are a daily practice. Information about it will obviously not be superfluous.

First of all, it is worth noting the change in the shape of the tuber.

It differs from the original varietal form: spindle-shaped, pear-shaped, constricted, "horned" and other tubers appear.

During germination and germination, some tubers do not have sprouts, and if they do, they are thin, filamentous. When digging potatoes, bushes appear in which the mother tubers (wombs) are preserved and look like they have just been planted. And ideally, they should have rotted! All these are signs of degeneration.

Reference by topic: How to rejuvenate, update a potato variety - seeds, cuttings and children

WHEN TO START POTATO HEALTH

The next question is when to start recovery. I answer: the rejuvenation of tubers must be started when the first signs of degeneration appear.

Healthy tubers can be obtained using the tuber and tops. From the tuber we take shadow and light sprouts, potato tops and peels, layering sprouts, sprouts with a minimum amount of tuber pulp, air nodules. From the tops we take the tops and stepchildren of the stems, the stems themselves.

Balabolki for the improvement of tubers are not used.

How is recovery going? When planting a sick, with signs of degeneration, the tuber is a viral warehouse, from which all parts of the bush (young tubers and tops) are infected with viruses. Recovery occurs if we close most of the viral warehouse and get tubers using the rest. This process is the recovery or rejuvenation of tubers.

To make it clearer, let me explain. When planting, we use cleanings that have significantly less viruses, since most of them remained in the cleaned tuber. The same thing happens when planting the tops of the tuber, sprouts with a minimum amount of pulp.

The less tuber pulp will be involved in obtaining a new crop, the less the resulting tubers will be infected with viruses. Here is your recovery.

When obtaining healthy tubers, we use sprouts that have significantly fewer viruses than the tuber from which they were separated.

You have repeatedly described ways to obtain healthy tubers, so there is no point in repeating them. I have experienced in my practice all methods of rejuvenating potato varieties using a tuber, except for air nodules due to their absence. Each method has its pros and cons.

I have chosen for myself and constantly use layering sprouts with a root system, which I get from individual tubers in containers (bags, bottoms of plastic bottles, etc.). When rejuvenating three or four varieties at the same time, I use boxes, placing them in a greenhouse under a covering material.

WHEN TO START GROUPING TUBES

I will not dwell on obtaining sprouts and healthy tubers. I will dwell on another question: when to start germinating tubers? To obtain sprouts 5-8 cm long with a root system, four weeks is enough. If I plan to plant tubers, for example, on May 20, then I start forcing the sprouts immediately after April 20.

But the weather conditions have the greatest influence on the choice, and they will be different every year in each region. It's hard to guess. The situation may be that the sprouts need to be planted, and night temperatures are low, return frosts are possible. The sprouts are outgrowing. What to do? Wait for normal weather conditions - we will get thin, elongated sprouts, which means that there will be difficulties in rooting. Land under the covering material on the arcs? The soil is still poorly warmed up - we get diseases of the sprouts.

In such cases, I proceed as follows. I take the prepared blade and remove the sprouts, leaving hemp 2-3 cm high on the tuber. With this technique, I postpone the time for planting the sprouts to two weeks.

New shoots appear on the stumps, increasing the branching of the stem. Removed sprouts can be used for rooting, obtaining an additional number of healthy tubers. Or you can just throw it away.

I plant sprouts in the morning hours in pre-prepared soil when it warms up at least 10 ° to a depth of 8-9 cm. Planting depth is two-thirds of the length of the sprout.

I plant sprouts in nests of three or four pieces. I do not separate the sprouts from the top of the tuber - they are less injured. I will definitely apply. Further care is normal.

HOW TO REJUVENATE AND REANIMATE POTATOES (GROWING POTATOES BY SEEDLING METHOD)

Reference by topic: Rejuvenation and healing of potato varieties

HEALTH OF POTATOES - QUALITY SCALE

We get healthy tubers using the stems of the bush. Literary sources recommend separate containers (bucket, box, etc.) to obtain a potato bush up to 20 cm high. The tops of the stems are removed and rooted using rooting accelerators, and the rooted ones are transplanted to a permanent place.

After the tops are removed, there is an increased growth of stepchildren, which can be used for rooting, having previously been removed from the stem.

Initially, I grew bushes in a bucket, rooted the tops and stepchildren, then transplanted. But then he abandoned it: a lot of unnecessary work. It is easier to remove the tops and stepchildren from the stems of the bush (before hilling), when they reach 15-20 cm, and immediately root them in a permanent place without the use of root accelerators.

I take ten tops and stepchildren each, using several bushes of the same variety. With high-quality seed tubers, the rooting of tips and stepchildren is 100% even without the use of solutions that improve root formation. With a decrease in the quality of tubers, the number of rooting also decreases.

When using tips from tubers of unknown reproduction, rooting can generally be the lowest. I sometimes rooted no more than one or three tops.

I began to use the dependence of rooting tips on the degree of infection of tubers by viruses as an additional indicator of seed quality. To do this, set the following such gradation:

good quality - rooting 10 tips;
average - from 5 to 9;
low - 4 or less.

I urgently heal this variety with sprouts with a root system. To determine the quality of the seeds, I also changed the order of the set of tips for rooting. Now I cut off the tops of the stems from ten different bushes, since the quality of the planting tubers of these bushes may differ from each other due to varying degrees of infection with viruses.

NUANCES OF CORRECT HEALING OF SEED POTATOES

And how to plant the tops of the stem, stepchildren, sprouts - shadow, light and others? Initially, I followed the recommendations from literary sources: before rooting, the tops of the stems kept them in a solution of heteroauxin or potassium humate according to the instructions. Next - planting in fertile, well-moistened soil. Planting depth is classic: two-thirds of the length of the top of the stem (stepson, sprout, etc.). I use tops 8-10 cm long, stepsons - 5-7 cm. For planting, I make a recess with a rod, into which I insert the top. I carefully squeeze the soil with my fingers, water the plantings and shade.

Planted. We are waiting for the result. Rooting is poor, regardless of whether the tops are treated with mortar or not. Why? I couldn't understand at all. And it turned out, everything is very simple.

When crimping with fingers, we ensure tight contact of the tip with the soil in its upper part, and the large lower part of the tip has weak contact with the soil. No contact, no rooting.

I had to change the boarding order. After inserting the tips or stepchildren into the holes, I carefully fill them with water from the kettle and only then crimp. As a result, rooting has improved significantly!

Conclusion: the number of rooted tops depends not only on the quality of the tubers, but also on the method of planting: with or without the use of solutions that accelerate root formation.

Yes, the use of solutions (heteroauxin, potassium humate, etc.) according to the instructions significantly improves the survival rate of the tops, but distorts the effect of the quality of the tubers on their rooting. For this reason, I refused any solutions.

It is more important for me to have an idea about the quality of planting tubers, and I can improve their health in another way.

In addition to the top of the stem and its stepchildren, the stem itself is also used to improve tubers. But here my first experiments were a failure. I will keep working to achieve success.

Readers may have a legitimate question: how often to conduct such a recovery? It's simple: they themselves will tell you the frequency of rejuvenation of tubers. When digging healthy tubers, you will not get any other forms than varietal. I recommend the next rejuvenation of the variety in 3-4 years. When tubers with a shape different from the varietal appear, I repeat the rejuvenation of the variety. In this case, I use already obtained tubers. Two times was enough for me.

On photo:

1-4 - signs of overgrowth of tubers; 5-6 - shoots from sprout stumps; 7-8 - tops of stems; 9 - single-row planting of sprouts; 10 - planting tops from stems of different quality; 11 - tubers from sprouts; 12 - tubers from tops.

I wish the workers of the earth good luck in using any methods of rejuvenating potatoes to get good harvests with the lowest labor and financial costs! All good health.

Reference by topic: Improvement of seed potatoes - my way and feedback about it