For open-field cultivation of potatoes in the autumn crop, whole-tuber sowing should be adopted.

Since the sowing period for open-field potatoes in the autumn crop falls in August, which is hot and rainy, sowing after cutting the potatoes into pieces leads to serious problems such as tuber rot and dead vines. Therefore, whole-tuber sowing should be adopted for open-field potatoes in the autumn crop.

When using whole-tuber sowing, select potatoes that are unbruised, disease-free, crack-free, with bright skin color and a moderate size. Because whole-tuber sowing of potatoes emerges more slowly than cut-piece sowing, and because potatoes harvested in spring are used as seed, the seed tubers are still in a dormant state at autumn sowing (except for some varieties with an extremely short dormancy period, such as Fengshoubai and Zhengshu No. 3). Therefore, sprouting treatment must be carried out before sowing. There are two sprouting methods: first, chemical sprouting. Treatment with agents such as gibberellin can break potato dormancy and ensure uniform and strong seedlings. For ordinary varieties, 5 days before sowing, first soak them in a 5×10-6 gibberellin solution for 5 minutes, then take them out and bury them in wet sand to sprout for 5 days; once the sprouts are 1-2 cm long, they can be sown. For varieties with a long dormancy period, first soak them in a 10×10-6 gibberellin solution for 20-30 minutes, then bury them in wet sand to sprout. Second, sand-bed sprouting. If time permits, a sand bed can also be used for sprouting about 25 days before sowing. The method is to first soak the seed tubers in clean well water, then spread wet sand 5 cm thick on the ground, spread the soaked seed tubers on it, cover the seed tubers and their surroundings with wet sand 5-6 cm thick, and spray water once every 2 days; once the sprouts are about 2 cm long, they can be sown. Strictly prevent the sand from being too wet, which causes seed rot.

After the potato sprouting treatment, special attention must also be paid to sowing at the right time. If sowing is too early, the hot and rainy weather makes tuber rot and missing plants very likely; if too late, the growth period is insufficient and yield decreases. In addition, autumn potato sowing should be carried out before 10 a.m. and after 3 p.m. on sunny days.