Detailed Explanation of Technical Specifications for Pollution-Free Pesticide Use in Potatoes

1. Cultivating strong seedlings free of pests and diseases

(1) Seed potato selection: For pollution-free potatoes, seed potatoes that are pest- and disease-resistant, disease-tolerant, and free of pest and disease damage should be selected. A seed-production field free of pests and diseases should be strictly established, and pest- and disease-free small whole seed potatoes should be cultivated in the pest- and disease-free seed-production field. The small whole seed potatoes kept for seed should be selected during storage. After the seed potatoes are taken out of the cellar, they should be strictly selected, using young and mature tubers as seed, and eliminating tubers with undesirable traits such as irregular shape, rough and aged skin, protruding eyes, and dull skin color. The quality of seed potatoes shall meet the requirements for improved grain crop varieties or above under GB8079-1987.

(2) Seed potato treatment: Choose any one according to the type of disease.

① Warm water seed soaking: Pre-soak the seed potatoes in 45°C warm water for 1 minute, then soak them in 60°C warm water for 15 minutes.

② Soak seed potato pieces in a 50 mg/kg copper sulfate solution or a 5% calcium superphosphate aqueous solution for 10 minutes, or mix the seed pieces with dry plant ash and sow immediately (controls ring rot and blackleg).

③ Soak the seed in a 200-fold dilution of 40% formalin for 5 minutes, or moisten the seed potatoes, then cover them tightly with plastic sheeting and let them sit for 2 hours, then air-dry and sow (controls powdery scab and common scab).

④ After sowing and before covering with soil, spray the furrow once with a 1:1:200 Bordeaux mixture, or a 500-fold dilution of 50% anilazine wettable powder, or apply slaked lime powder once at 450-750 kg per hectare (controls late blight and Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia diseases).

2. Integrated pest and disease control after sowing Potatoes have many types of pests and diseases, among which late blight in the north and viral diseases in the south, as well as the potato ladybird beetle and potato tuber moth, cause the most serious damage. Pollution-free potato production should adopt integrated control measures.

Agricultural control measures:

① Establish a pest- and disease-free improved seed potato system and propagation base. Through methods such as careful selection, virus-free seedlings, and true seedlings, provide excellent seed potatoes free of viruses, pathogens, and pests. For self-propagation, two-season seed potatoes can be used (controls viral diseases, late blight, powdery scab, etc.).

② Strictly implement the quarantine system, and do not transfer seed from epidemic areas. Carefully select or disinfect seed potatoes before sowing. In ring rot areas, sow whole seed potatoes (controls many tuber-borne diseases such as powdery scab, common scab, ring rot, and late blight).

③ Implement a 3-year crop rotation with non-solanaceous vegetables (controls many tuber diseases). ④ Select pest- and disease-resistant varieties according to the main pests and diseases in the region.

⑤ Promote formula fertilization to enhance plant disease resistance (resistance to late blight and early blight).

⑥ Adopt high-bed or high-ridge cultivation, carry out timely hilling, strengthen ventilation, and strictly prevent flooding irrigation (controls late blight, early blight, powdery scab, etc.).

⑦ Manual capture and killing of pests: Control aphids over a large area at the seedling stage, and promptly handle diseased and pest-damaged residual plants (controls viral diseases and other diseases and pests). ⑧ Harvest should be carried out in sunny and dry weather. After harvest, promptly clean up diseased potatoes and diseased pieces in the field, carry them out of the field, and destroy them (controls all pests and diseases).

⑨ Before storage, remove diseased, pest-damaged, and injured potatoes. Tubers harvested from pest- and disease-infested land should be handled as early as possible (controls all pests and diseases).