Potatoes are a highly productive, but at the same time, labor-intensive and costly crop. Each experienced agronomist monitors the fulfillment of a number of necessary conditions to obtain high results in gross harvest and marketability.
Potato plants are most demanding on the quality of the soil. The culture loves loose, light, sandy soil rich in humus. Ridge technology of potato cultivation creates optimal soil aeration and provides high-tech harvesting.
The best precursors for potatoes are winter breads and legumes, since after them the soil is well cleaned of pests and pathogens, and is also enriched with useful substances.
Climate is an important success factor in potato cultivation. Illumination (unshaded, flat fields are considered the best growing areas) and moisture are of priority. One potato bush evaporates 60-70 liters of water per season. Most of all moisture is required during the periods of budding and growth of tubers. With its lack, the yield is significantly reduced. Consider the example of New Zealand: in the country, modern technologies are combined with an almost ideal climate, which allows farmers to obtain a consistently high yield, on average, about 500 c / ha, and some farmers harvest 700 c / ha. Considering that in Russia most of the territory is located in the zone of risky farming, it is more difficult to achieve such records. To maximize the potential of the crop, many Russian potato growers cultivate irrigated potatoes.
In terms of mineral nutrition, potatoes respond well to high doses of nitrogen, phosphorus and especially potassium. Nitrogen is responsible for the growth of vegetative mass and the synthesis of protein compounds. The most effective are amide and ammonium forms of nitrogen. The ammonium form of nitrogen improves the phosphorus nutrition of the crop. Phosphorus contributes to the development of the root system, the formation of stolons and tuberization in general. Taking into account the fact that potatoes belong to crops with an ascending mineral nutrition "bottom-up", phosphorus nutrition is of particular importance.
The absorption of phosphorus by potato plants is extended over time and occurs until the budding phase is reached. Providing crops with affordable phosphorus is a priority in any growing area.
Potassium is no less important for plants: it regulates the synthesis and transportation of sugars, provides a high mass of tubers, and their dry matter content. As a rule, when planning nutrients for a given yield, agronomists strive to achieve a potassium to phosphorus ratio of 1,5: 1.
For the full development of culture, meso and microelements are also needed, especially at the initial stages of culture development.
Sulfur enhances plant resistance to diseases, increases the starchiness of tubers, improves the taste of potatoes. In addition, the use of sulfur in combination with nitrogen and phosphorus contributes to an increase in the utilization rate of macroelements by the plant from fertilizers and soil.
And under conditions of sulfur starvation, the accumulation of nitrates in tubers increases (by an average of 22%), and the ripening period is lengthened.
Calcium is a part of cell walls, contributes to their strengthening and strengthening, growth and development of the root system. The growth of root hairs directly depends on the availability of calcium during the formation of the root system. It improves the commercial qualities of tubers, increases the content of vitamin C, increases keeping quality and disease resistance. Considering that calcium is absorbed by root hairs on stolons, foliar dressings containing this macronutrient are ineffective due to the weak mobility of calcium along the phloem from the leaf to the root system in the tubers.
Potatoes are a magnesium-loving crop. The use of magnesium increases the yield, the yield of the marketable fraction of tubers.
Boron increases resistance to diseases, promotes more rapid formation of ground mass and root system, the transition to flowering and the formation of tubers. Boron deficiency leads to tubers cracking.
Zinc increases the availability of phosphorus for potato plants, minimizes the incidence of scab, and participates in the processes of respiration and photosynthesis.
When cultivating potatoes, it is necessary to pay attention to the soil reaction of the environment. The optimum soil pH for potato development ranges from 5,5-7 units. The higher the pH value, the greater the risk of developing common scab. In addition, soil pH strongly affects the availability of nutrients. At acidity below 5,5 units, the availability of macro- and mesoelements is greatly reduced: potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium. At a pH above 7 units, the mineral nutrition with microelements deteriorates.
Potatoes are responsive to soil liming. This technique allows you to improve the agrochemical, agrophysical and biological properties of the soil, to create optimal physical, water-physical, air and other conditions for the life of the culture.
But liming immediately before planting potatoes is not recommended, since a high lime content in the soil can provoke the development of scab on the tubers.
PhosAgro is one of the largest companies in the Russian agrochemical industry, with more than fifty brands of modern mineral fertilizers in its assets. Mineral nutrition systems for plants developed by PhosAgro specialists are based on the principles of rational application of fertilizers produced from unique pure raw materials.
The fertilizer contains from 2 to 8 nutrients. Each granule contains nutrients in the stated ratios.
For root nutrition of potatoes, fertilizing during planting, we recommend brands with a high content of phosphorus and potassium:
⁃ APAVIVA + NPK (S) 10:26:26 (2) + B and NPK (S) 10:26:26 (2) + Zn
⁃ APAVIVA + NPK (S) 8: 20: 30 + B and NPK (S) 8: 20: 30 + Zn,
⁃ APAVIVA + NPK (S) 15:15:15 (10) + B and NPK (S) 15:15:15 (10) + Zn,
⁃ APAVIVA + NPK (S) 5:15:30 (5) + B.
If there are potato planters on the farm with the possibility of intra-soil application of liquid fertilizers, the experts of PhosAgro are the best solution to apply the liquid complex fertilizer APALIQUA NP 11:37 (ZhKU) during planting. The main advantage of this type of fertilizer is the ease of preparation on its basis of complex multicomponent tank mixtures enriched with microelements, growth stimulants, and preparations for combating soil pests.
Phosagro mineral fertilizers help agricultural producers manage their crops, ensure profitability of work on the land and take care of maintaining soil fertility and health.
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