How to manage potatoes during the seedling stage? Master these key points
The potato is an important food crop in China and is grown over a wide area across the country. Throughout its entire growth period, the potato goes through different growth stages, and the seedling stage is a very important one. The management during the seedling stage also has a great impact on the growth of potatoes, so how should we manage potatoes during the seedling stage? Below, the editor brings you the key management points for the potato seedling stage. Let's take a look!
1. Checking seedlings and filling gaps
After the potato seedlings have successfully emerged, pay attention to checking the growth of the potato seedlings in a timely manner and do a good job of thinning. When thinning, keep the strong seedlings and provide them with enough growing space. Also promptly remove weak seedlings, pest- and disease-affected seedlings, and dead seedlings. If you find gaps where seedlings are missing, then fill them with healthy seedlings of the same growth. If more than 28% of the seedlings are missing, you can appropriately replant some corn, green beans, and the like in the gaps. This improves the utilization rate of the soil, avoids excessive losses, and increases the economic benefits of planting.
2. Ventilation and air exchange
Under normal circumstances, the potato seedling stage should be in early summer, when the temperature gradually rises. Therefore, potatoes grown in greenhouses should be well ventilated. Every morning around 9 o'clock, when the temperature is above 16°C, promptly open the vents for ventilation. Avoid the temperature inside the greenhouse exceeding 25°C; excessively high temperatures are very harmful to the growth of potato seedlings. If ventilation is not done well, it may scorch the seedling leaves. After emergence, you should check once every morning, and after the potato seedlings break through the soil, promptly break the film to harden the seedlings.
3. Water and fertilizer management
During the potato seedling stage, the growth capacity is not strong, but the speed of leaf expansion is relatively fast, especially after entering the tuber initiation stage. The amount of stems and leaves will increase sharply, and then side branches will also begin to grow. Therefore, in order to ensure the growth of the seedlings during the tuber initiation stage, water and fertilizer work must be done once at the rosette stage, with urea as the main fertilizer. The main growing parts of the seedlings are stems and leaves, and this is also an important period for later tuber formation. At this time, the demand for nitrogen fertilizer is relatively high, so we should apply fertilizer and water early to ensure sufficient nutrients and moisture and promote the growth of the seedlings.
4. Cultivation and weeding
Cultivation and weeding is a management task that cannot be ignored at any growth stage of potatoes. Cultivation can effectively improve soil permeability, enhance the soil's ability to absorb fertilizer, and promote nutrient uptake by the seedlings. Weeding can better concentrate nutrients on the seedlings, prevent weeds from robbing the seedlings of growth nutrients, which would hinder the growth of potato seedlings, reduce yield, and seriously affect planting benefits. So everyone must pay close attention when planting to avoid some irreparable losses.
The above is a brief introduction to the key management points for the potato seedling stage. When planting potatoes, we must pay attention to doing these basic management tasks well, otherwise the impact will be very great. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can be helpful to everyone!