Potato processing methods before planting

Landscaping

Preplanting tubers reduces moisture loss in mother potatoes. Especially this procedure helps with insufficient moisture in the earth in the spring. If at night this culture can absorb water through the surface of the leaves, then in the daytime sundial without planting the young root system will be quite difficult to provide itself with moisture. Also, during landscaping, sprouts grow stronger, which appeared during storage in the cellar.

It is recommended to plant trees on the tubers 2-2.5 weeks before the planned planting. The whole process is extremely simple and provided by nature itself. It is enough to take the boxes with seeds outside and cover them with a thick transparent film, creating the effect of a greenhouse. During exposure to sunlight, chlorophyll begins to be produced in the root crop, a substance that stains the tubers green. If you process potatoes in this way, then you can count on quick shoots. The yield increases by 14-15%.

Germination

Germination is the most important procedure that increases the chances of obtaining a high-quality and bountiful harvest. If you plant seedless potato seeds, it will be difficult for them to cut through the soil to the surface. This significantly slows down growth and increases the growing season.

In order for the buds to wake up on time and give high-quality sprouts, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions for them. Prepared tubers need to be laid out in an even thin layer in boxes of 10-12 kilograms. The boxes are installed in a warm room with an air temperature of up to 20 ° C for 5-7 days. After the buds have hatched, the boxes need to be moved to a cooler and brighter place with a temperature of about 10-12 ° C.

If you leave the tubers warm for a long time, you can get poor quality seed with thin and brittle shoots. Every 7-10 days, the potatoes are turned over so that the light evenly penetrates all sides. During the transfer of tubers, you can sort them to remove sick, spoiled and rotten potatoes.

Video "Preparing potatoes before planting"

Disinfection

Once in the ground, seeds are attacked not only by parasites and pests, but also by fungi and bacteria. Preplant disinfection helps to protect the material from premature spoilage and prevent infection of young tubers. Most often, potatoes are processed before planting with potassium permanganate. For 10 liters of water, you need to take 1 gram of the product. The tubers are dipped in the solution for 30-40 minutes.

Some gardeners also recommend disinfecting the soil with the same potassium permanganate solution. Good results are obtained with a solution of copper sulfate and zinc sulfate. Each product is taken 10 grams per bucket of water. The solution can be made in wooden, glass or enamel containers, but not in metal ones. If you decide to use boric acid, then take 50 grams of it per 10 liters of water.

All these methods help protect the plant from the common phytophthora disease. If it was not possible to save the area from this fungus, you can use the drug Fitosporin.The tops are sprayed with its solution and the soil is watered.

After soaking in antiseptic solutions, potatoes are dipped in wood ash. Also, this folk remedy is added to the soil just before planting. Ash has a triple effect - it disinfects, promotes growth and repels pests.

Some growers recommend protecting the tubers by adding rotten grass bedding to the soil. Everyone knows that the worst enemy of the potato is the Colorado potato beetle. But in fact, it is not only him that is worth fearing. The wireworm, the larva of the click beetle, loves to spoil the roots and settle in them. The wireworm gnaws at the back doors in the tubers, getting to the very core. Because of this, the potatoes begin to rot. Wireworms are most afraid of the limestone environment. Therefore, first of all, chalk, lime and ash are added to the soil before planting.

A good folk remedy for wireworm is crushed eggshells. A small amount of homemade powder is poured directly into the soil under the seeds. You can also fight wireworms with ammonium sulfate. Make sure that ammonia water does not get into the growth zone of the root system. You can scare away wireworms with potassium permanganate. You just need to prepare a stronger solution. For 10 liters of water, take 5 grams of the drug. 500-1000 milliliters of the product are poured into each well.

Cardinal measures to combat the wireworm involve the use of professional chemicals, for example, Provotox, Kapkan or Zemlin. Sometimes prophylaxis against wireworm is carried out with an infusion of celandine. Large farming enterprises prefer to process potatoes before sowing Aktara and Baikal-EM. These complex preparations protect tubers and stimulate growth.

Video "Potatoes before planting"

What operations do you need to do with potatoes before planting to get the best harvest? Do not know? Then the video clip below is for you.