Detailed Explanation of the Causes of Hollow Potatoes and Prevention and Control Methods
Potato, also called the potato, is one of the most common vegetables in our lives. It is the third most important food crop in the world, with an extremely wide planting area. During cultivation, a physiological disorder—hollow heart, appears, which seriously affects the yield and quality of potatoes and reduces their commercial value. What causes hollow potatoes? How should they be prevented and controlled? Let's take a look together.
1. Symptoms of hollow heart
Hollow heart in potatoes generally occurs in the pith of the tuber. When the hollow heart is on the outside, no symptoms can be seen, and it can only be found by cutting it open. It generally occurs in larger tubers. Its hollow heart is generally star-shaped and radial or flat-mouthed, and some have several cavities connected together, with the cavity walls white or brown. Before hollowing, the internal tissue becomes water-soaked or transparent. Generally, this kind of potato cannot be eaten.
2. Causes of hollow heart
The main cause of hollow potatoes is that the tubers expand too quickly. When the tubers expand, improper fertilizer and water management leads to excessive water, causing the tubers to expand rapidly and absorb a large amount of water. Starch is then converted into sugar, resulting in large tubers but few nutrients in the internal tissue, or the nutrients in the internal tissue are transferred or absorbed, all of which can lead to hollow heart. In addition, if the soil is too dry in the early stage, the plants lack water, and then in the late stage of fruit growth there is sudden watering or rainfall, while the plants lack potassium fertilizer, so nutrients cannot be transported in time, leading to hollow heart.
3. Prevention and control methods
First, choose varieties with a low rate of hollow heart for planting, and also pay attention to planting density, reduce plant spacing, and reduce the rate of missing plants. Reasonable close planting is also one of the measures to prevent hollow heart. When potato tubers expand, fertilizer and water management should be strengthened, water should be supplied evenly, and suitable soil moisture should be maintained. Long-term drought or excessive watering is not advisable. When tubers expand, apply an appropriate amount of potassium fertilizer. Potassium fertilizer can speed up the transport of nutrients, make the plant's nutrient area uniform, 1 promote tuber growth and expansion, and also pay attention to earthing up.
The above are the causes of hollow potatoes and prevention and control methods. I hope it can help you. To learn more about potato cultivation knowledge, please follow us.