Potato is a valuable vegetable crop. To date, a huge variety of its varieties are bred. One of them is Karatop potato, characterized by an early ripening period. Read about this vegetable in the article.
General information
Potato Karatop is from America. The local population calls him "dad." In Russia, the vegetable appeared thanks to Emperor Peter I. Since then, potatoes have been the main crop of the garden. Its nutritional qualities are so great that the tubers of this vegetable are considered indispensable in the human diet.
Over five hundred kinds of dishes can easily be prepared from potatoes by the master chef without repeating them once. Potato Karatop, reviews about which are positive, grown as a technical culture, alcohol and starch are obtained from it. Used to produce glucose, molasses, rubber, glue, medicines.
View characteristic
The potato variety Karatop belongs to the early ripening period. Tubers are ripened six weeks after the appearance of the first seedlings. Gardeners love to grow it because of the high yields of delicious fruits. Potato Karatop refers to the table type, is used to meet one's own needs. From it they produce chips, dry mashed potatoes. This variety of vegetables is dried, it goes to the production of french fries. It is easy to clean using a mechanized method.
The bushes are semi-erect or sprawling, their height is average. A small amount of white flowers forms on the stems. Young plants develop rapidly, give a powerful ground mass. Leaves have an intermediate planting and medium size. The stems do not stand out among the total mass of the plant, as they have a weak color.
The tubers are large, oval in shape. Little eyes, they are small. The peel has a yellow color and a mesh surface. The pulp is hard, light yellow in color, with excellent taste. After cooking, it does not fall apart. There are many tubers in the nest, up to twenty-five pieces, they are about the same size, which has a positive effect on productivity. With one hectare, with good care, you can collect forty-five tons. Potato cultivars Karatop, reviews of which as a high-yielding crop, are good, resistant to glandular spotting, but have low resistance to such a leaf disease as late blight.
Features of vegetable culture
Potato Karatop - a representative of the nightshade family, refers to a species of herbaceous plants. Its reproduction is carried out by tubers and seeds. The vegetable is grown as an annual plant, since the presence of a large amount of water in the potato contributes to frost damage.
The main feature of the plant is its ability to form tubers. In order for them to develop well, they need to be planted in loose soil, otherwise they will be small and deformed.
Has a fibrous root system Karatop potatoes. The description of the variety is not without features, one of which is that for the germination of tubers the temperature is considered to be at least ten degrees of heat, but it is better if it is higher, about sixteen degrees. Although the vegetable does not tolerate excessively high temperature.
Potatoes are not cultivated in the area where tomatoes grew before it, it is better if the vegetables were preceded by root vegetables or cabbage. After several years, the planting site needs to be changed, as well as planting material, otherwise tubers will degenerate.
Growing requirements
Potato loves a lot of light. If the bushes are planted often or the weeds constantly create a shadow, the plant will underdevelop or even die. Vegetable grows on soils of any composition. The exceptions are swampy, saline, clay and sandy soils. But it is preferable for potatoes slightly acidic soil with good aeration and a high content of nutrients.
Culture medium
At the beginning of its growth, potatoes feed on planted tubers. During the period of growth of the aboveground green mass and the formation of young tubers, the plant needs a lot of nutrients. Therefore, it needs to be fed, but in moderation. So, with an excess of nitrogen, the tops of plants grow intensively, which prolongs the growing season and slows down the formation of tubers. In plants, resistance to diseases decreases, nitrates accumulate. If there is little nitrogen, the productivity of the green mass decreases and the yield decreases.
With a balanced nitrogen content, the plant well absorbs elements such as phosphorus and potassium, thereby accelerating its development. Tubers are harvested with starch, stored longer, and the quality of the seeds improves.
A lack of phosphorus leads to a disruption in the development of plants: the bush branches little, the flowering period is delayed, the formation of buds and tubers is delayed. With a lack of potassium, the roots and tissues of the plant develop poorly. Tubers grow small, elongated, poorly stored in winter. Excessive potassium in the soil reduces starch grains.
The soil needs to be fertilized with organic fertilizers. Rotted manure is applied at the rate of five kilograms per square meter of area. On a previously uncultivated plot, the fertilizer rate increases to twenty kilograms. For information: fresh manure and lime are not recommended to be added directly to the hole when planting potatoes. Tubers can become scab.
Humidification Requirements
Potatoes love sufficient moisture, especially when tops, buds appear and the flowering period begins.
It is at this time that tubers are tied, the quantity and quality of which depends on precipitation. If there are few of them, tuber growth stops, which affects yield. And if there is a lot - the growth process also stops, the tubers begin to choke and rot.