How to sprout potatoes scientifically? These methods you need to master

“Potato” gets its name because it closely resembles a horse bell, and this name first appeared in the "Songxi County Annals, Food and Goods" during the Kangxi period. In Northeast China and Hebei it is called tudou, in North China it is called shanyao dan, in the Northwest and the two Hu regions it is called yangyu, in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area it is called yangfan yu or yangshanyu, in Guangdong it is called shuzai, in eastern Guangdong it is called Helan potato, in eastern Fujian it is called fanzi potato, and in northwestern Hubei it is called “tudou”.

Morphological characteristics of the potato

Herbaceous, with underground stems tuberous, flattened-round or 15-80 cm tall, hairless or sparsely pubescent. The stem is divided into aboveground stem and underground stem. Oblong, about 3-10 cm in diameter, outer skin white, pale red or purple. The skin color of the tuber is white, yellow, pink, red, purple and black, and the flesh is white, pale yellow, yellow, black, blue, purple and black-purple. Plants grown from seed form a slender main root and branched lateral roots; plants propagated from tubers have no main root and form only a fibrous root system. The aboveground stem is rhombic and hairy. The primary leaves are simple and entire. As the plant grows, odd unequal pinnately compound leaves gradually form. The leaflets are often alternating in size, 10-20 cm long; the petiole is about 2.5-5 cm long; leaflets, 6-8 pairs, ovate to oblong, the largest up to 6 cm long and 3.2 cm wide, the smallest less than 1 cm in both length and width, apex pointed, base slightly unequal, entire, both sides sparsely white pubescent, lateral veins 6-7 on each side, apex slightly curved, petiolule about 1-8 mm. The corymb is terminal, later lateral, flowers white or blue-purple; calyx campanulate, about 1 cm in diameter, sparsely pubescent outside, 5-lobed, lobes lanceolate, apex long acuminate; corolla rotate, about 2.5-3 cm in diameter, corolla tube hidden within the calyx, about 2 mm long, limb about 1.5 cm long, lobes 5, triangular, about 5 mm long; stamens about 6 mm long, anthers 5 times the length of the filaments; ovary ovate, hairless, style about 8 mm long, stigma capitate. The potato berry is spherical, smooth, green or purple-brown, about 1.5 cm in diameter. Seeds kidney-shaped, yellow. Flowering in summer.

Ecological environment of the potato

The potato prefers cool conditions and is a crop that likes low temperatures. The formation and growth of its underground tubers require a loose, airy, cool and moist soil environment. Temperature requirements: the suitable temperature for tuber growth is 16°C~18°C, and when the soil temperature is higher than 25°C, tuber growth stops; the suitable temperature for stem and leaf growth is 15°C~25°C, and growth stops above 39°C.

How to sprout potatoes scientifically?

Potato sprouting mainly uses the following four methods.

1. Indoor sprouting method Choose a ventilated, cool place with a relatively low temperature, cut the potatoes into small pieces (each piece must ensure 1-3 buds), then wash off the sap with cool water, dry them, and in the room use moist sand soil to cover the seed potatoes in layers for sprouting, piling up three or four layers, covering the surface with rice straw to retain moisture, and keeping the temperature at about 20°C. When the sprouts grow to 1-0.5 cm, take them out and place them in a cool outdoor place to harden the sprouts for 1-3 days before sowing. 2. Gibberellin sprouting method Soak the seed potatoes in 5-8 ppm gibberellin for 0.5-1 hour, then remove them and immediately bury them in a moist sand bed for sprouting. The sand bed should be set in a cool, ventilated place, spread with 10 cm of moist sand, one layer of seed potatoes and one layer of sand, arranging 3-4 layers. After 5-7 days, when the sprouts reach about 0.5 cm, they can be hardened and sown. But it should be noted: ① first dissolve the gibberellin with a small amount of alcohol, then add water to dilute it to the required concentration, put the seed potatoes into a basket or mesh bag and then place them in the solution to soak; ② cut one batch of seed potatoes and soak one batch, do not cut them one day and soak them the next, so as to avoid the wounds forming callus tissue and reducing the soaking effect. 3. Greenhouse and plastic tunnel sprouting method At the head of the walkway inside the plastic tunnel (the end far from the tunnel door), if the ground is too dry, spray a small amount of water to make it slightly moist, then spread 1 layer of tubers, scatter 1 layer of moist sand (note disinfection with chemicals), and in this way 3-5 layers of tubers can be laid continuously, finally covering the top with grass mats or hemp bags to retain moisture, but plastic film must not be used. After 5-7 days, when the sprouts reach about 0.5 cm, they can be hardened and sown. 4. Seedling hotbed sprouting method You can use an existing seedbed, or dig a new seedbed. After flattening the bottom of the bed, spread 1 layer of tubers and scatter 1 layer of moist sand, laying 3-5 layers of tubers, and finally cover the sand with 1 layer of grass mats. Build bamboo arches on the seedbed, cover tightly with film, and press down the surroundings with soil. After 5-7 days, when the sprouts reach about 0.5 cm, they can be hardened and sown. Note: during the sprouting process, adhere to the “five suitable and five unsuitable” principles, namely tuber pieces should be large rather than small, the number of layers should be few rather than many, the soil (sand) should be dry rather than wet, the sprout-hardening time should be long rather than short, and the sprouts should be short rather than long. Pay special attention: during the sprouting process, humidity should not be too high. If humidity is high during sprouting, it is very easy for roots to form at the base of the young sprouts, and these roots will shrink from water loss or die during the sprout-hardening stage before sowing. The suitable sowing sprout length for potatoes is 0.5-1 cm. When the sprout length reaches 0.5-1 cm, place the sprouted tuber pieces under indoor scattered light to make the sprouts turn green.