Common Problems and Solutions in Potato Production

Suihua City is a major potato-producing city, with a perennial planting area stable at around 1.5 million mu, and the quality of potato production is of great significance to agricultural production. In order to achieve high quality, high yield and high efficiency in potato production, and to help farmers achieve the goal of continuously increasing their income, I have summarized and analyzed the problems that frequently occur in potato production in our city over the years and their causes, and put forward corresponding solutions.

I. Problems that frequently occur in production and their causes

1. Potato blight Potato late blight is the main disease in potato production in our city, occurring year-round in potato-growing areas and causing enormous damage. The affected area reaches more than 50%, and the yield reduction ranges from 16.7 to 41%. The main reasons for the occurrence of potato blight in our city are continuous cropping on the same land year after year, and some growers' poor awareness of late blight prevention.

2. Potato ring rot Ring rot is also a common disease in our city, with an annual occurrence area of about 10%. The potato ring rot pathogen is mainly spread through seed potatoes; it cannot survive in the soil, but it can be carried on tools, machinery, packing boxes and packaging bags.

3. Hollow potato tubers In potato cultivation, hollow tubers often appear, especially larger tubers, which show splitting and hollowness in the middle. The causes of hollowness, in addition to being related to the characteristics of the potato variety, are also closely related to cultivation conditions and the environment during tuber enlargement. After tubers have formed, if there is a period of water shortage or drought, followed by sufficient fertilizer and water, especially high soil moisture and abundant nitrogen fertilizer, the tubers grow rapidly, and some varieties often develop hollowness.

4. Deformed potato tubers In potato production, various deformed tubers are sometimes seen, such as gourd-shaped, dumbbell-shaped, and tubers with several small tubers growing from the top. The occurrence of these deformed tubers is mainly caused by the plants encountering high temperatures and drought during the growing period, and is also related to a certain extent to the characteristics of the variety. After the plants set tubers, if the soil temperature rises to about 25°C, the tubers basically stop growing. In some varieties under high temperature, the tubers convert starch into sugar, the tubers cannot grow, but the buds can grow, forming small tubers. In some varieties, tuber growth stops under drought and high temperature; after irrigation or rainfall, the soil temperature drops, and nutrients continue to be transported into the tubers, thus forming deformed tubers.

II. Solutions

1. Potato late blight For the control of potato late blight, disease-resistant varieties can be selected, and virus-free seed potatoes are best used to improve the disease resistance of the variety; before potato tubers are stored in the cellar for the winter, they must be fully sun-dried and strictly selected so that the tubers entering the cellar meet the qualified standard; before sowing, 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder or 72% DuPont Curzate wettable powder 50g can be used, added to 2-3L of water, evenly sprayed on the seed pieces, covered with gunny sacks and sealed for 12-24h to kill the late blight pathogens attached to the surface of the seed potatoes; in mid-June, Daconil M-45, 600 times dilution, can be used to begin prevention, and in the early stage of the disease, 72% DuPont Curzate wettable powder 600 times dilution, or 10% Kega suspension concentrate 2000 times dilution, or 50% Fushuaide suspension concentrate 2000 times dilution can also be used for foliar spray control, spraying once every 7 days, for 3-4 consecutive sprays; in years when late blight is epidemic, for severely affected plots, the above-ground plants can be cut down in advance and promptly transported out of the field to reduce the infection rate of the tubers.

2. Potato ring rot Using disease-free seed potatoes is the most economical and effective control method; whole-tuber sowing should be applied; when cutting seed potatoes into pieces, the cutting knife must be strictly disinfected, and the knife can be soaked in 5% Lysol, or 75% alcohol, or 0.1% potassium permanganate; before sowing healthy tubers, volunteer plants in the field should be eliminated, and the tools used, such as baskets, boxes and other items, should be disinfected; using new packaging bags can reduce the spread of potato ring rot.

3. Hollow potato tubers For varieties prone to hollowness, such as Atlantic, attention should be paid to cultivation and management conditions. Varieties with large tubers are prone to hollowness, and special attention should be paid to preventing hollowness in their tubers. The methods to prevent hollowness are: increase planting density, reduce missing plants and gaps, so that the nutritional area of the plants is uniform and the population structure is good, and control tuber size to a moderate degree; ensure that field water and fertilizer conditions remain stable, do not apply too much nitrogen fertilizer, pay attention to increasing potassium fertilizer application, and irrigate at the proper time; it is necessary to prevent drought and water shortage, but excessive irrigation is also inadvisable, which can control the occurrence of hollowness in tubers.

4. Deformed potato tubers Deformed tubers affect the market@#@136@#@ and should be taken seriously. The effective methods to prevent potato deformity are: in field management, pay attention to preventing excessively high soil temperature, and measures such as irrigation to lower the temperature can be taken to reduce the number of deformed tubers. Attention should also be paid to hilling more soil; the advantages of thick hilling are: on the one hand, it can prevent the soil temperature from rising abruptly, thereby helping to reduce deformed tubers; on the other hand, it can also prevent tubers from sprouting and growing above the ground and affecting tuber setting.