Rational close-planting techniques for dryland potato cultivation

Potato cultivation has a long history in Ulanqab City, and its growth and development patterns match the local natural climate characteristics, giving it obvious resource advantages and enormous development potential. In recent years, potato cultivation techniques have also developed greatly, with the goal of high quality and special use, taking excellent virus-free seed potatoes as the main line, integrating key technologies, forming technical models and technical systems, and innovating extension methods to effectively raise the rates of technology popularization and adoption. In our city, the promotion and application of virus-free seed potatoes was first accelerated, vigorously promoting dryland plastic film mulching cultivation, dryland water-saving practices, soil testing and formulated fertilization, integrated pest and disease control, high-ridge cultivation on irrigated land, and rational close-planting cultivation techniques.

By widening row spacing and reducing plant spacing to increase planting density, improving ventilation and light conditions, and increasing inputs to reduce competition among plants for nutrients and other resources, the marketable rate of potatoes is ensured. After two years of trials and demonstrations, this technique has shown significant yield-increasing and income-increasing effects.

1. In our city, planting density is mainly increased by widening row spacing and reducing plant spacing, generally with wide row spacing of 75-80 cm and plant spacing of 25-30 cm. The stand density is kept at 2,800-3,300 plants per mu, an increase of nearly 1,000 plants or more over traditional planting. 2. At present, this cultivation technique is being gradually improved and promoted. For example, in 2006, villager Zhang Zhenming in Village No. 27, Xinghe County, planted 34 mu of potato project fields, all with the Kesin No. 1 foundation seed allocated by the city extension station. Under the guidance of technical personnel, all project fields used wide-narrow row planting, with row spacing of 80 cm and plant spacing of 30 cm, 2,801 hills per mu, and an actual yield of 2,095 kg.