How to Grow Potatoes? Key Cultivation Techniques Explained in One Article

1. Pre-planting preparation: In mid-February, prepare seed potatoes, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, agricultural film and other farming supplies. Take the seed potatoes out of the cellar and place them indoors at about 12°C to sprout.

2. Cut the seed potatoes: Make sure each piece of seed potato has at least 1-2 eyes and weighs about 30 grams

or so. Treat the cut seed potato pieces with a seed dressing. The powder formula is: add 250 grams of 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder to 50 kg of fossil powder.

3. Sow early at the right time: Generally sow from March 5 to 15, with a row spacing of 90 cm, a plant spacing of 12 cm, a sowing rate of 150 kg per mu, and a planting density of 5,000 to 5,200 plants per mu. Apply per mu

sufficient base fertilizer: 50 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer, 20 kg of potassium sulfate, and 100 kg of diammonium phosphate. After sowing

cover with film in time.

4. Field management:

(1) Break the film in time. After potatoes are sown, seedlings generally begin to emerge in 25-30 days. At

this time, assign dedicated personnel to inspect the field and, when seedlings are found to have emerged, promptly break open the agricultural film covering them. If

the film is not broken in time, it is very easy for the seedlings inside the film to be scorched by high temperatures. When about 80% of the

seedlings in the whole field have emerged, remove all the agricultural film in time.

(2) Intertillage and earthing up. After potato seedlings emerge, carry out the first

intertillage when they have grown to about 8-10 cm. The most suitable earthing-up height is to leave 4-5 cm of the seedlings exposed. At the bud stage, carry out the

second intertillage and earthing up.

(3) Topdressing and watering. During the first intertillage, apply 20 kg of ammonium sulfate per mu as topdressing. In

addition, water in time for seedling preservation, the bud stage, and tuber expansion.

(4) Timely prevention and control of pests and diseases. In mid-to-late May, promptly control underground pests and spray

Shuangmeiyijing to prevent potato late blight. From late May to early June, promptly control aphids.