How to grow potatoes "Luck"?
Crossing vegetable cults allows you to get more perfect varieties, endowed with the advantages of mother plants. Breeding new varieties of potatoes is a popular and useful work carried out by plant breeders. The result of such activities was a species called "Luck", which is in demand in the private sector. It is also used for growing for the purpose of selling on the market.
Characteristic
The variety in question fully justifies its name, since among a large number of species it is considered the best. This culture can most often be found in gardens. On the shelves of shops and markets, this root crop is not stale. "Luck" appears on sale one of the first. The variety stands out for its visual appeal, and the thin peel makes it possible to use it for eating, while having a minimum of waste.
The hybrid was bred by crossing the Vilnia and Anoka varieties. In the course of their work, the specialists pursued the goal of obtaining a vegetable crop capable of producing a large crop in different climatic conditions. Judging by the reviews, the variety "Luck" justified the hopes placed on it. The culture is successfully grown in the central, southeastern and northern regions, and due to the property of the plant to quickly adapt and adapt to the existing conditions, it stands out for its high yield even in dry conditions.
The height of the potato bushes is about 40 cm.The plant has fairly dense foliage, painted in dark green. The bush blooms with white flowers, after which a few berries with seeds are formed on the culture.
Potatoes grow in an oval shape with a minimum number of eyes. The color of the tubers varies from light brown to cream. The flesh of this potato is light, but during heat treatment it may acquire a yellowish tint if, during cultivation, the crop was fertilized with compounds containing potassium or chloride additives.
For a complete description of the "Luck" variety, it is necessary to dwell on its main characteristics:
- the average duration of the growing season is about 80-90 days;
- the mass of one potato reaches 150 grams;
- the number of tubers on one bush varies between 10-15 pieces;
- the starch content in the product is up to 14%;
- an approximate yield per hectare is 42 tons.
A distinctive feature of this potato is the ability to produce good yields on almost any type of soil, but good agricultural practices / weather conditions play a significant role in this.
Describing this vegetable crop, the advantages and disadvantages of the variety should be highlighted. The advantages of potato "Luck" include the following properties:
- resistance to negative temperatures - for the plant to develop productively, a temperature of + 10C is enough for it;
- a quick process of tying tubers - after 45 days (approximately) after the appearance of the entrances, the young potatoes are already suitable for consumption;
- excellent taste qualities - the root crop is not watery, does not disintegrate during heat treatment;
- resistance to most viruses and diseases - the variety is not susceptible to scab, rhizoctoniosis;
- resistance to mechanical damage - tubers are practically not injured during mechanical harvesting and transportation;
- good keeping quality of the variety - subject to all the rules for storing the crop, the tubers retain their original appearance and taste for quite a long time.
The disadvantages of the "Luck" potato include low resistance to fungal diseases. In addition, the variety does not develop well with dense rows.
The ripening period of tubers planted in April-early May falls already at the end of June. If the crop was damaged when harvested by a combine, the potatoes do not change their color in the places where the defect was formed.
Landing
Variety "Luck" perfectly adapts to almost any soil, but before planting, you should pay attention to what crops were previously planted on the ground. It would be more correct to plant potatoes after winter crops or legumes. But after tomatoes, the root crop should not be planted, since the plants are prone to the same diseases.
As for the seed cultivation of the Udacha variety, this method will require much more time and attention (in comparison with planting germinated tubers). However, in the first case, there is no need to harvest planting material, so you can use the entire harvest for personal needs.
Experienced gardeners are advised to alternate methods of growing crops.
Seed planting requires mandatory fertilization. Usually top dressing is performed by root and foliar methods. The roots of the culture are fertilized with organic additives, and the ground part of the plant is sprayed with special compounds. Timely fertilized soil will help to get a rich potato crop enriched with useful trace elements.
Tubers are planted only in well-warmed soil, but planting material that has not yet warmed up itself after a cellar or other storage is not recommended to be immediately buried in the soil. This is due to the fact that potatoes will germinate much longer, which will postpone the harvest time.
It is necessary to select and then prepare potatoes for future planting 2-3 weeks before the planned date of work. The selected material is laid out in boxes, without restricting access to light. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, the tubers begin to turn green, which will enable the plant to resist many diseases in the future. It is best to sort the planting material by size, and then plant it in the appropriate beds.
Potatoes selected for planting should be medium in size. To use tubers that are large in mass, they should be cut in half, but so that at least three shoots remain on each half. Experienced gardeners advise cutting potatoes exactly along, this is due to the specific location of the kidneys on the tuber, as well as the different duration of the dormant phase. After planting in the soil, sprouts of different sizes will produce uneven shoots, which will negatively affect the ripening of the crop.
Potatoes will begin to grow faster in soft soil, so the selected piece of land must first be dug up. In addition, the soil must be fertilized before planting. For these purposes, compost or humus is used. As practice shows, the optimal amount of fertilizer will be 40-50 buckets per 1 hectare of land.
Planting potatoes in clay soil is carried out in specially formed ridges, the height of which should be about 20 cm.This feature will allow the earth to warm up better. In addition, its breathability will increase. As for the chernozem, the formation of ridges in this case is not mandatory.
Planting varieties "Luck" is carried out in late April or early May. The decision to start work should be made taking into account the degree of heating of the soil - its temperature should be above + 6C.
During the planting of the material, it is worth adhering to a certain distance between the bushes so as not to thicken the rows, as this will affect the quality and quantity of the crop. The scheme for planting potatoes "Luck" does not differ from the usual method of planting a vegetable crop - the tubers in one row are located at a distance of at least 20 cm from each other, the rows are formed at a distance of about 40 cm.
To get an early potato harvest, some gardeners resort to one fairly effective method. It consists in a certain preparation of planting material. The tubers that have been selected for planting are placed in boxes with sawdust, after which they are watered. After two weeks, young plants are formed from the tubers, ready for planting in the beds.
Some experts prefer to use peat instead of sawdust, but this growing technique is not practiced so often, since the process will be quite laborious.
Despite the fact that the variety "Luck" refers to frost-resistant crops, in the spring it is best to take care of sheltering the soil in order to protect the plant from possible freezing of the soil, which often occurs in spring.
Care
In the process of growth, a vegetable crop needs additional nutrition.To do this, potatoes are fed with a composition of ash and compost during the first hilling of the planted material.
Hilling should be done when shoots appear. Such a precaution will provide a still immature plant with protection from a nighttime drop in air temperature.
Subsequent work on the care of potatoes consists in regular weeding and loosening of the earth. It is best to work with damp soil after rain. "Luck", like most varieties of potatoes, needs nitrogen fertilizer, but this element must be introduced very carefully so that the additive does not come into contact with the green mass of the crop.
In the initial period, the plant must be protected from frost, so the beds are usually covered before the first leaves appear on the bushes. As practice shows, hilling the beds effectively copes with protection.
The introduction of fertilizer is carried out during the loosening of the soil. If you add more fertilizer to the soil, hollows will form on the tubers, into which putrefactive bacteria can penetrate. As a result, the crop will begin to rot after harvest.
Taking into account the composition of the soil where the variety was planted, it may need additional feeding with microelements. To enrich the soil, it is recommended to use a solution of mullein. In addition, complex preparations are commercially available that can nourish poor soil.
The considered hybrid variety is resistant to arid climates, but this does not mean at all that the planted plants do not require watering. Water the beds with settled water from the water supply or use the collected rainwater. The main thing is that it should be warm. The first watering should be carried out after the emergence of the first shoots (at the same time as the loosening of the earth).As a result, it will be possible to break the top layer of soil, which can interfere with air exchange.
The next watering is carried out already at the time of flowering of the crop. All work on moistening is carried out with the introduction of moisture into the aisle. It should be borne in mind that the last watering must be carried out no later than 14 days before harvest. It will be possible to dig up young potatoes already 2-3 weeks after the flowering of the variety. It will be possible to determine the size of the fruit by digging the bush from the side. Digging up potatoes that will be the size of a chicken egg is not worth it. In this case, the plant will need about 7 more days to fully mature. Before harvesting, the tops are cut off on the bushes, after which you can begin to dig up the root crop.
Diseases and pests
Variety "Luck" is distinguished by resistance to most diseases, however, plants are often affected by late blight. In addition, the bushes suffer from stem nematode infection. Among insect pests, like any potato, this variety is popular with Colorado potato beetles and bears.
The main cause of phytophthora damage is waterlogged soil, as well as too heaped planting of bushes. The disease manifests itself by the formation of dark spots on the foliage. Without timely treatment, the infection spreads further through the culture, infects the stems, after which the tubers rot. To prevent disease, plants need constant weeding. To treat the culture, it is treated with copper-containing compounds or Bordeaux liquid. The use of drugs is allowed in any phase of development.
The nematode is characterized by pale foliage of the bushes and a significant thickening of the stems. In addition, the disease affects tubers - they become covered with dark spots.To reduce the likelihood of disease of potato bushes, it is recommended that ash be applied to each well when planting a crop. Infected bushes must be removed from the beds. Treatment is carried out with specialized drugs.
To combat insects, you can use chemical compounds or less harmless folk methods. Among the effective means it is worth highlighting the following:
- treatment of bushes with a solution of ash with laundry soap in proportion - 2 liters of ash is dissolved in a bucket of water with a bar of soap;
- spraying with a solution of bitter wormwood - 300 g of grass and 200-250 ml of ash are dissolved in a bucket of hot water;
- infusion of poplar foliage - half a bucket of greens is poured with water, brought to a boil, when the composition is infused for 3 days, they can be sprayed with potatoes;
- a solution of 300 g of soda and yeast, diluted in a bucket of water.
Storage
The harvest of the Luck variety is usually carried out in mid-August, but the timing directly depends on the time of planting the bushes. Plants planted early will yield by the end of June. A characteristic sign that allows you to determine that the tubers are ready for harvesting is the withering of the shoots on the plant. In addition to the standard method of harvesting potatoes, you can dig them with a pitchfork. A bush is hooked with a tool, after which it is pulled out along with the tubers.
Before sending the crop to storage, the potatoes must be dried and then sorted. A root crop that has damage or any signs of illness must be removed.
The harvested crop should be sprayed with copper sulfate. Such processing will improve the safety of the vegetable.
Best of all, the root crop will be preserved in the cellar or basement, where the air temperature will be about + 2C. Potatoes are poured into boxes with a layer of about 1.5 cm.The container with the harvest should be placed on stands, which will ensure normal air circulation and prevent decay.
Recommendations
Given the advantages of the "Luck" variety, its cultivation / care requires compliance with clear rules. The main ones are described below.
- The main requirement in the course of planting a crop is the need to find the plant in warm soil. Therefore, a place for growing potatoes should be provided with the sun. Beds are recommended to be placed from north to south.
- As for the collection of root crops, delay in this case is fraught with the fact that the crop in the ground will simply begin to rot, and this will make it impossible to eat potatoes.
- Potato is a temperate crop, so it will be possible to get the maximum yield if the temperature regime in which the plant develops is + 17-20C. In addition, the variety "Luck" tolerates a decrease in temperature much better than its increase.
- The plant will need the greatest amount of moisture during the development of the tops, the formation of buds.
At this time, watering should be increased to speed up the set / growth of potato tubers.
For information on how to grow Luck potatoes, see the following video.