Alexander Skvortsov, Head of Sumi Potatoes, SumiAgro Russia
The 2020 season did not become a record for the gross harvest of potatoes in our country. Affected stress factors of a different nature, which differ depending on the region. In the coming year, many potato growers are eager to "catch up", but market conditions force them to make adjustments to their plans. The trend is that the quantity of products is less and less important for the success of a business, and more and more - its quality.
There is always a demand for a product with excellent commercial properties, suitable for storage, washing, packaging, and a high price is offered for it. To put it more rigidly, today you need to grow high-quality potatoes or not deal with this crop at all.
Quality work requires a lot of effort and should start with a well-thought-out plant protection scheme.
Stress protection
It is difficult to imagine how the weather conditions will develop in the new season and whether they will be favorable for growing potatoes, but experience shows that not a single year, even the most successful one, is without problems, so one should not expect only favors from nature. And it is better to prepare for possible unpleasant surprises in advance using stimulants and nutritional correctors. Considering that we live in a period of climatic changes, investments in these preparations are absolutely justified, without them it is extremely difficult to unleash the yield potential and achieve high marketability indicators. The main fertilizers used on farms only create a static potential, and the correctors realize it in changeable conditions.
Of great interest to farmers, for example, is the Basfoliar line for balancing the mineral nutrition system. So, at the stage of etching, you can use the drug Basfoliar®Kelp, it contains the hormones auxin (in high concentration) and cytokinin, as well as a set of trace elements. Re-treatment is carried out at the seedling stage to stimulate root formation.
At the stage of mass growth of the vegetative mass, Basfoliar® Active (NPK 5:27:18 + microelements) is indispensable, after the transition to tuber formation - Basfoliar® Combi Stipp, including calcium, which promotes long-term storage.
The drug Siapton® is a ready-made set of amino acids and peptides in high concentration, which serves to overcome the effects of stress. The drug accelerates the absorption of nitrogen and prevents the mechanisms of premature aging from starting.
Amalgerol® Essence combines the properties of several products at once: it contains amino acids, growth stimulants based on seaweed extract, an activator of soil microflora, micro- and meso-nutrients. In addition to increasing yields and product quality, it also accelerates the biodegradation of stubble due to the activation of soil microorganisms, promotes the formation of mycorrhiza on the roots of cultivated plants.
Fighting diseases and pests
Diseases and pests often interfere with achieving high yields of potatoes. As an example: among the many diseases affecting tubers, none can compare in harmfulness with rhizoctonia disease. Rhizoctoniae always manifests itself on potatoes, every year, for its development, no special conditions for temperature and moisture are needed, and damage to seedlings at the beginning of the growing season can already critically reduce the yield. Therefore, the choice of a disinfectant should be determined primarily by the effectiveness in relation to this particular disease.
Pencicuron, the active ingredient of Prestige®, is extremely effective against rhizoctonia. Imidacloprid - the second component of the drug - provides reliable protection of the crop in the first half of the growing season from scoops, wireworms, Colorado potato beetles and aphids. Imidacloprid is the strongest neonicotinoid, has a longer period of protective action than thiamethoxam and acetamiprid.
Late blight and Alternaria are diseases that maximally affect the leaf apparatus of the potato. To combat them, modern science offers many drugs, but it is very important to choose from this list effective and universal at the same time. Take the Consento® fungicide as a sample. It controls all stages of late blight development, has both prophylactic and therapeutic effects, as well as an anti-sporulation effect. The drug is systemic, protects new growth during the period of active development of potato tops. Additional properties - resistant to washout and controls both causative agents of Alternaria.
Another possible tool in the fight against late blight is Elektis D®. This is a drug of the “post-mancocebic era” (recall that since 2021, many developed European countries refuse to use mancoceb, a contact drug with a long history), is at the final stage of registration in Russia. It contains a new molecule on potatoes - Zoxamide, which disrupts processes in the nucleus of the pathogen, interrupting the development of tubules during germination of zoospores. That is, it has a unique mechanism of action that is different from other substances. Zoxamide is resistant to washout, which favorably distinguishes it from mancozeb; when planning treatments, you can not make corrections for precipitation and irrigation regime. The second component, dimethomorph, has a translaminar effect and inhibits the growth of the cell walls of the fungus. As a result, we have a new highly effective product with excellent rain resistance.
Let us dwell in more detail on the topic of drug resistance to flushing. Undoubtedly, irrigated potatoes yield higher yields than farmed potatoes. But it is necessary to clearly understand that farms using irrigation must be especially careful when choosing drugs against late blight, it is necessary to take into account the effectiveness of the active substances in such conditions.
Ranman® Top, which is very popular in European countries with a maritime climate, fits ideally into the irrigation scheme. Cyazofamide - the active component of the drug - acts on all forms of the pathogen at all stages of potato development. It has translaminar and even quasi-systemic activity and is resistant to precipitation within 15 minutes after treatment.
In European countries, the drug is used for finishing treatments at the end of the season.
Another product that is resistant to flushing, Mixanil® is an excellent alternative to mancoceb-containing products. It contains a unique combination of substances - chlorothalonil and cymoxanil, which endow the drug with contact and translaminar activity and effectiveness against late blight and alternaria. This is an excellent drug in building an anti-resistance strategy, since no cases of resistance to cymoxanil have been identified at the moment, and it cannot be to chlorothalonil (the substance has multisite activity).
In the context of plant protection against late blight and Alternaria, I would also like to remind you of the fungicide Cuproxat®. It contains tribasic copper sulfate. The preparation is liquid, the particle size is less than 1 micron. Due to the peculiarities of the mechanism of action, Cuproxat® destroys pathogenic microorganisms without harm to plant crops. A pathogen that gets on a surface treated with a fungicide almost instantly "burns out" - protein denaturation and tissue destruction occur.
Weed control
Potatoes, unlike most crops, have a long germination period, and thus give a head start to weeds: for some time they have no competitors in the field. Herbicide regimens, widely known in the market, generally do well with dicotyledonous weeds, but for cereals, especially perennial ones, they do not always work satisfactorily.
There is no doubt that the fight against the same creeping wheatgrass should be carried out systematically, in crop rotation, in order to exclude its appearance on potato fields. But in practice, this work is not always done. In cases where cereal weeds get out of control, Targa® Super, a quizalofop-P-ethyl based product, may be the solution. The drug is not tied to the phase of potato development, its use can be combined with the introduction of other drugs. The dosage is flexible, depending on the conditions of the application.
Adjuvants
Let us emphasize that any drug is a tool that may not always be effective on its own, upon purchase. It is important to use the drugs correctly. The result is influenced by many factors: the speed of the sprayer, corrected for wind and air humidity, the choice of sprayers (for fungicides, it is better to use two-flare ones), the degree of their wear (change regularly). Compensating for possible losses during spraying, especially in extreme conditions, and increasing the effectiveness of drugs, allows a competent choice of adjuvants.
Let's note two of them. Crusade® is intended for use with fungicides, it combines several mechanisms of action at once: in addition to providing better spreading and retention of droplets of the working solution, this adjuvant forms an "agronomically valuable" fraction of droplets with a size of more than 100 microns.
Together with insecticides, the adjuvant Olemix® shows itself better. This is a preparation based on mineral oil, it is used in a dosage of 0,5-1,5 l / ha (depending on the foliage of the variety and the degree of development of plants at the time of processing). Olemix® increases the effectiveness of insecticides by reducing the surface tension of the working solution; prevents the washout of pesticides by precipitation and strong dew and exhibits insect-acaricidal action on aphids at increased consumption rates.
In conclusion, I would like to say that potatoes belong to super-intensive crops that require significant investment of effort and money when growing, do not forgive saving on trifles. At the same time, market realities do not always allow an agricultural producer to use all modern tools to achieve success. But this is not required. Thoughtful gradual development and intelligent optimization are much more important.