Potato Planting Methods and Propagation Explained in Detail
The potato is a food crop widely cultivated around the world. Its tubers are rich in starch, protein, amino acids, and various vitamins and minerals, and can provide the human body with abundant calories. So, what are the planting methods for potatoes? What is used for propagation?
1. What are the planting methods for potatoes?
1. Sow at the right time
Potatoes are generally planted around March each year. You need to wait for the soil to thaw, and when the temperature of the 10 cm soil layer stays above 10°C for 3 consecutive days, you can sow. The specific sowing time also depends on the geographical environment and climate type of each region.
2. Land preparation and fertilization
Choose a plot with fertile soil, deep soil layers, and good looseness and aeration. Before sowing, clear stubble and plow deeply to 20 cm. When plowing, apply 2000 kg/mu of decomposed organic fertilizer, and at the same time apply more than 20 kg of compound fertilizer according to soil moisture conditions (the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is 1:0.5:2).
3. Seed potato treatment
Select suitable excellent varieties and carry out sprouting treatment. Spread the seed potatoes out under scattered light and keep them at 15-20°C. Once short, sturdy sprouts have been produced directly, sow them. Before sowing, dress the seeds with plant ash plus chlorothalonil plus Xin Gao Zhi Mo, to promote rapid healing of the cut surfaces of the pieces, reduce seed rot, increase potassium, and prevent diseases.
4. Reasonable close planting
Make ridges on flat ground, or break the original ridges and then re-form ridges. The ridge spacing is 80-90 cm, with single-row cultivation, plant spacing of 15-20 cm, and soil coverage thickness of 10-15 cm. The number of seedlings retained per mu is 4000-5000 plants. According to the variety and soil fertility conditions, early-maturing varieties should be planted somewhat densely, and late-maturing varieties somewhat sparsely.
5. Field management
Loosen the soil, earth up and form ridges in time, and water, cultivate and weed, and fertilize reasonably at the right times. At the same time, before potato flowering and during the tuber formation and enlargement stages, spray Di Guo Zhuang Di Ling at the right times, to effectively control excessive growth of the aboveground stems and leaves, accelerate the rapid enlargement of underground tubers, enhance resistance to insect pests, and ensure high quality, high efficiency, and a bumper harvest of potatoes.
6. Pest and disease control
At sowing or before tuber formation, apply 3-4 bottles/mu of phoxim to control underground pests, and apply Xin Gao Zhi Mo in combination to improve pesticide efficacy. At the same time, for pests and diseases such as aphids, 28-spotted ladybirds, early blight, and late blight, spray targeted pesticides according to plant protection requirements to kill them, and also spray Xin Gao Zhi Mo 800-fold solution to consolidate the effect.
7. Harvest in time
Harvest when physiological maturity is reached. Early-maturing varieties are harvested in mid-to-late August, and mid-to-late-maturing varieties in early-to-mid September. About one week before harvest, cut the potato vines mechanically or kill the vines chemically, and clear the stems and leaves out of the plot. When digging and harvesting, the digging depth should be reasonable to prevent leaving potatoes behind and causing skin breakage and damage to the potatoes. Handle gently when loading and transporting, and prevent sun exposure, rain, and freezing damage during transport and storage.
2. What are potatoes propagated with?
They mainly reproduce through the buds on the tubers. Plant propagation methods are divided into sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction. The reproductive method in which sperm and egg cells combine is called sexual reproduction. The reproductive method that does not require the combination of male and female reproductive cells, with the parent directly producing new individuals, is called asexual reproduction. Potatoes use the buds on the tubers to reproduce, without the combination of male and female reproductive cells, but rather new individuals directly produced by the parent, so they belong to asexual reproduction.
In addition, if you want potatoes to achieve high yield, you need to choose varieties with good market demand according to the planting season, crop rotation, and market demand. Seed potatoes are required to have a good tuber shape and appearance, shallow bud eyes, and smooth tuber skin.