Of all the vegetables growing on our planet, potatoes are, without exaggeration, the most sought after and popular. We can not do without him in everyday life, he is a welcome guest at the festive table. And how many varied dishes can be prepared from healthy and tasty potatoes! Professional cooks and housewives fry and boil it, bake and stuff it, prepare mashed potatoes and add it to salads. Not one trip is complete without potatoes baked on a fire.
Today there are many varieties of this healthy and satisfying vegetable. Despite this, breeders all over the world are constantly working on breeding new, more advanced varieties. Today we will introduce you Laton potatoes. Description of the variety, photos, reviews of experienced vegetable growers will help you determine its merits and identify flaws, if any.
This early ripe variety is very popular in our country. He was bred by the Dutch breeders of the company HZPC-Holland. In recent years, Laton potatoes, whose advantages were appreciated by Russian vegetable growers, have been successfully grown in many countries. Excellent taste and other characteristics have made this variety one of the most popular in temperate regions. The most common cultivation of Laton potatoes in the territories of Ukraine, Moldova and Russia. The variety shows excellent results in the southern regions of our country.
Potato Latona: characteristics, description
This variety forms erect and tall bushes with large dark green leaves and frosted plates. Potato tops are magnificent and dense, quite sprawling. Latona blooms moderately; small flowers with white corollas appear on the bushes. The tops of ripening and dying off slowly, which allows for a long time to maintain soil moisture. The shape of the Laton potato tubers is rounded oval. They are quite large, covered with yellow peel and having superficial eyes. The pulp is light yellow, slightly friable during cooking.
With excellent taste, Latona potatoes gained popularity both among professional cooks and housewives. The pulp contains up to 20% starch. This is a very high rate. Experts estimate the taste of this potato at 4.9 points on a five-point scale. When cooking, it does not crumble, it keeps its original shape perfectly. Each bush gives from 9 to 11 tubers. The mass of each of them ranges from 85 to 135 grams.
The variety is resistant to scab, virus Y, to curl of leaves, to golden nematode, to cancer and late blight. Based on the variety description, photos and reviews, Laton potatoes can be attributed to a table variety of early ripening. The tubers ripen in eighty days. The first potato harvesting is carried out after 45 days. Storage capacity (keeping quality) is estimated at 90%, but provided that there is no condensation in the storage.
Productivity
When growing crops in a full cycle, 40-45 tons of potatoes are obtained from each hectare of plantings, which is considered an excellent result. The total yield depends on growing conditions. On average, it ranges from 82 to 95%. Regardless of whether the season is dry or rainy, the Laton potato crop is equally well formed. Description of the variety, photos, reviews of experienced gardeners allow us to state that up to two kilograms of tubers and more from the bush can be collected in the household plots with proper care.
Grade Advantages
- For gardeners and farmers, the variety is valuable for its high resistance to mechanical damage.
- Due to the presence of superficial ocelli and light yellow pulp it is widely used in cooking.
- The plant has a short growing season (80 days).
- A rather long, gradual dying of tops has a beneficial effect on the growth of tubers, which grow almost all summer.
- Latona perfectly tolerates bad weather conditions and long transportation.
No significant deficiencies in Laton potatoes have been identified.
Landing
There are several ways to plant potatoes:
Trench landing
This method is ideal for warm regions with light, sandy soils that do not retain moisture. In this case, dig trenches with a depth of not more than fifteen centimeters. Between them, the distance should be about seventy centimeters. Tubers are laid out in them, taking into account their size: small after 30-35 cm, large - after 40 cm.
Smooth fit
For this method, it is enough to raise the earth, lay the tubers sprouts up, and then sprinkle with soil. This is a great solution for lighted areas that do not have stagnant water. Tubers are placed at a distance of seventy centimeters to a depth of about half a shovel. They are planted staggered in two rows. This will facilitate further processing of row-spacing after the appearance of sprouts.
Ridge landing
This method is recommended to be used if the soil is “heavy” with excess moisture in your area. It is necessary to make ridges about fifteen centimeters high at a distance of seventy centimeters. In them tubers are planted. The distance between the bushes should be at least 30 cm.
For preplant treatment using the means of "Maxim" and "Albit". It is usually carried out during spring plowing. This procedure will protect the soil from compaction. It is necessary to equip drainage - potatoes of this variety cannot tolerate stagnation of melt water. Before planting, ammonium nitrate is introduced into the soil. At the same time, before digging the soil, nitrogen-containing, potassium fertilizers and manure are introduced. The timing of planting Laton potatoes depends on weather conditions, but usually these are the first days of May, when the air temperature rises to + 8 ° C.
To obtain the highest possible yield, it is necessary to monitor the density of planting: both rare and thickened plantings are equally harmful. Landing ridges should be directed from north to south, which will allow sunlight to evenly illuminate and warm them. Potato tubers are pre-germinated. In this case, they give healthy sprouts.
Then plant potatoes?
Potatoes of this variety should be planted in areas where cabbage, root crops, legumes, cucumbers or pumpkin crops used to grow. However, it is not enough to know after which to plant potatoes. It is necessary to pre-treat tubers before planting to protect them from infections, soil pests and increase the yield and quality of potatoes.
After landing care
After planting, Laton potatoes should be cared for. It involves several agricultural activities:
- watering;
- hilling;
- top dressing;
- pest protection.
Watering
If the summer is not too dry, then in the season it is enough to spend only three waterings. Immediately after planting, you should not water the plant, since the soil is still saturated with spring moisture. But when the tops begin to grow actively, and this happens fifteen days after the appearance of the first sprouts, the plant needs additional moisture.
Experienced vegetable growers know that the beginning of flowering shrubs indicates the beginning of the formation of tubers. At this time, the plant again needs watering. And the third watering depends on how dry the soil is. If it is too hard, it stretches poorly in the hand and is dry at a depth of six centimeters, then the plant needs hydration. After a day, the soil must be loosened.
What watering method to use?
Summer residents find an advantage both in the sprinkling method and in drip irrigation. For example, if it is possible to install sprinklers for a day, this will allow replacing light rain when not only the soil is moistened, but also dust is washed off from the stems and leaves. More water will fall under the bush during drip irrigation.
Hilling
Is it necessary or not for potato hilling? It depends on the climate and soil. It should be remembered that hilling inside the nest raises the temperature. And when it rises above + 20 ° C, the formation slows down. And at the same time, the main enemy for the growth of tubers is a crust on the surface of the soil. Therefore, if after the rain you find it on the ground, you should hurry - you have only a day at your disposal during which you can easily destroy it with a hoe. Otherwise, the growth of tubers will slow down - through the crust, the soil will quickly spend moisture.
Inter-row processing is very important for potatoes. It will protect young plants from possible frosts in early spring, destroy weeds, help to accumulate moisture and provide air to the roots, stimulate the growth of roots and green mass. Based on this, we can say that hilling is the most important part of caring for the plant, on which it depends on how much you will be pleased with the result of harvesting potatoes.
The first cultivation of row-spacings is carried out after the emergence of potato shoots. Then hilling is carried out every time after watering or rain. In addition, it is necessary before flowering. Hilling can be done in several ways:
- mechanized using a walk-behind tractor;
- manual, when hiller, plane cutter, chopper are used.
Top dressing
Potato Latona actively responds to mixed dressing with mineral and organic fertilizers. You can add nitrophoska (1 tbsp.spoon per well) or ash during potato planting. During the season, potatoes of this variety are fed three times. The first time this is done, when a young tops just develops. To do this, in ten liters of water, dilute one spoon (tablespoon) of urea or add a semi-liquid mullein. Under each bush make at least 0.5 liters of any of these solutions. Top dressing is done only after watering or rain.
A second top dressing is necessary during budding. It will speed up the flowering process. Dissolve three tablespoons of ash and one spoon of potassium sulfate in ten liters of water.
During flowering, superphosphate in granules is suitable for feeding potatoes. This fertilizer has a beneficial effect on the development of the root system, accelerates the formation of tubers. In ten liters of water, a glass of semi-liquid mullein and two tablespoons of superphosphate should be diluted. To increase yield and the emergence of marketable tubers that are resistant to major diseases, the Agat-25K preparation is used when closing potato tops by spraying plants.
Pest protection
Ash not only fertilizes, but also perfectly protects the potato bushes in wet weather from decay. Therefore, plants can be not only watered with a solution of ash, but also “dusted” with its tops. The same method will help you fight the Colorado potato beetle - the main enemy of potatoes. Widely used natural remedies onion peel. It is added to the wells during planting, and the planting is mulched, sprinkling crushed husk around the plants.
Beans planted in or around potato ridges, mustard, calendula will help protect the crop from wireworms. Garlic infusion will protect against late blight. To do this, two hundred grams of garlic must be crushed to gruel and add a little water to it. This composition should be infused for two days. After this, the infusion is mixed and treated with plants. This is done 2-3 times with an interval of 10 days.
Harvest
Early potatoes, which, as we have found out, include Latona, can be harvested in late June or in early July. At this time, the bushes begin to fade, and the tops gradually wither. First they dig one bush - if the tubers in diameter have reached three centimeters, you can collect the first crop. In July, early potatoes are harvested. You will be able to understand that the tubers are ripe and there will be no new ones, at the beginning of the withering tops.
It is difficult to specify the exact dates, as a rule, they depend on the region of growth - in the southern regions, potatoes are in the soil longer, and in the north even late varieties are harvested no later than the third decade of September. Harvesting, carefully dig up the bushes with a pitchfork on the side of the row (ridge). The plant is pulled by the tops, tubers are collected from it and stacked in buckets.
If you want to get a large crop of potatoes from your seed material, then do not rush to collect dug up tubers: leave them near the hole for a while. This way you can understand which of the bushes were the most productive.
Potato processing
After harvesting, potatoes are sprinkled in the sun for several hours to dry. Ultraviolet rays destroy the vast majority of fungi and bacteria. Before laying for storage, potatoes are sorted and laid aside or discarded all damaged, rotten, “baked” or having signs of disease tubers. Potatoes that have minor mechanical damage - cuts, scratches or dents, set aside separately for first use. Together with the whole they can not be left.
After this, the tubers are pickled in a solution of copper sulfate. This will extend storage. To do this, you need copper sulfate (two grams), which should be dissolved in ten liters of water and sprinkled with tubers with this composition, and sorted seed seeds must also be greened. Potatoes intended for food and seed are stored separately. If this is one room, then you need to store them in different angles.
Do I need to wash potatoes before laying them for storage?
The debate on this issue has not subsided so far. Gardeners are not able to come to a consensus, answering it. Some believe that this procedure is unacceptable, since it will lead to rapid rotting of tubers. Others are sure that it is thanks to this measure that potatoes are better stored in the winter. And I must admit that opponents have serious arguments. In order to decide how to send potatoes for the winter, one should learn the truth: it does not matter if he washed beforehand or not. In preparing it for winter storage, it is important to achieve complete drying of the tubers. Only in this case it will be stored for a very long time and without loss. In addition, the storage temperature is affected by the room temperature. It should be no higher than + 5 ° C. The room should be dark with a humidity of about 91%.
Pros of Washed Vegetables
- At the stage of preparing the tubers for storage, their condition can be assessed: the slightest defects are visible on the peeled peel.
- More attractive presentation. This is especially important when selling potatoes is planned.
- After the winter, you will clean the cellar much faster.
Minuses
- Poorly dried root crops at the stage of preparation for winter will quickly deteriorate.
- Preparing tubers for the winter will be much longer and labor-intensive.
- It will take a lot of water, especially if you have harvested a large crop.
- It takes quite a lot of space for drying.
Experts recommend washing potatoes only if the harvest was carried out in rainy, dirty weather. In all other cases, after drying, with the tubers, the earth is perfectly cleaned off with hands.
Cellar storage
Quite often, gardeners use a cellar to store Laton potatoes. Here the tubers are poured into boxes with small openings or in bins, but the layer should be no more than one and a half meters, so that even air passes to the lower tubers and the excess moisture evaporates. Boxes are best installed on pallets from boards, slightly stepping back from the wall. This will protect the crop from decay.
Potatoes are better stored when the layers are transferred with leaves of mountain ash, fern, dumplings, elderberry or wormwood. Check how they behave, should at least once a month. If you throw away spoiled tubers on time, regularly air the room, maintain a constant temperature, put buckets of lime next to the potatoes, your harvest will be preserved until the next harvest.
Reviews of vegetable growers
We presented you Laton potatoes (description of the variety, photo). Gardeners' reviews confirm that this variety has a great taste. It attracts with high and stable crops. Gardeners note an amazing feature of this variety to adapt to the most difficult weather conditions and at the same time remain unpretentious in care.
Without performing the necessary agrotechnical measures, no more than seven medium and large tubers are formed in the potato nest . But if you follow all the recommended procedures, then the yield increases significantly.