What to do when potato yields are low to achieve high yields
Potato, also known as the potato, is a common vegetable in our daily lives and one of the important food crops in our country. Its price is not high, but it has many ways of preparation and tastes delicious, so its market has always been good. However, farmers' potato yields have always been low when planting. What should be done? Follow the editor to take a look at how to increase potato yields.
1. Sprouting and cutting
Start sprouting one month before planting potatoes. Before sprouting, spread a layer of sand about 5 cm thick on the ground, then place the seed potatoes for sprouting on the sand and cover them with sand. Lay them in 4 layers in this way. The sprouting temperature should be kept at 15-20°C, so frequent watering is needed. However, the humidity should not be too high. During sprouting, promptly remove rotten and diseased seed potatoes. This is a key point: if rotten or diseased potatoes are present, they will cause the spread of pathogens and affect the whole batch. Generally, sprouts emerge after about half a month of sprouting. When the young sprouts grow to about 2 cm, cutting can be carried out. The cut pieces should be of appropriate size, ensuring each seed piece weighs about 40 grams. The knife must be disinfected before use. Ensure each cut piece has at least two eyes. After cutting, coat the cut surfaces with plant ash to prevent pathogen infection, then place them in a cool, ventilated place so the wounds dry naturally.
2. Land preparation
Soil conditions have a relatively large impact on potato yield. Potatoes are suitable for planting in sandy loam and loam. Generally, plots that are slightly acidic, loose and fertile, well aerated, and rich in organic matter can all be used for planting. However, it is best not to choose land whose previous crop was sunflower, tomato, eggplant, or land where growth-promoting agents were sprayed, to avoid carrying pathogens in the field. This should be avoided. It is best to choose plots whose previous crop was rice, corn, or soybean. Before planting, deep plow the land, generally in late autumn, to a depth of about 20-25 cm. Apply 2500-3000 kg of decomposed farmyard manure per mu as base fertilizer, and it can also be appropriately combined with 4-5 kg of phosphate fertilizer, 10 kg of potassium fertilizer, and 7 kg of nitrogen fertilizer. Land preparation should ensure the ground is level and there are no hard clods on the surface.
3. Sowing
The sowing time for potatoes is also relatively important. The sowing time should be appropriate. Sowing too early can lead to seed rot and dead seedlings. Sowing too late will shorten the potato growth cycle and cause reduced yield. Generally, the potato sowing time should be determined according to temperature. The best sowing time for potatoes is generally when the soil temperature at a depth of about 10 cm remains at about 5-7°C. For spring sowing, in order to improve the soil's moisture conservation capacity and increase soil temperature, ridges should be made and furrows opened to a depth of 3-4 cm. When sowing, the young sprouts should face upward, with row spacing kept at 55-60 cm and plant spacing maintained at 25-30 cm. After placing them, spray herbicide to prevent weeds.
4. Field management
Potatoes are generally topdressed at the flowering stage. At the bud stage, mainly nitrogen fertilizer is applied. At the full flowering stage, a second topdressing is mainly carried out, with potassium fertilizer as the main component. When the tubers reach about 2 cm in length, they should be irrigated reasonably according to soil and climate conditions. In the later stage of tuber growth, irrigation should be stopped to avoid excessive water causing root rot. The main potato diseases are blackleg, leaf blight, late blight, etc. In addition to choosing varieties with strong disease resistance when planting, chemical agents are also needed for control when disease occurs. During the flowering stage, sprays can be continuously applied 3 times with agents such as Shuangke, metalaxyl mancozeb, Dasheng, and mancozeb for control. If diseased plants are found, they must be promptly taken out of the field to avoid large-scale spread later and to prevent affecting the next crop.
The above is an introduction to what to do when potato planting yields are not high. I hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please follow us.