All gardeners know that growing potatoes is half the battle. It is also necessary to ensure all conditions under which the storage of potatoes will save the entire crop. After collecting the tubers, they are cleaned of debris and earth and well dried. The rooms in which the potatoes are stored are disinfected with special solutions. The most commonly used solution is slaked lime: it is prepared from 2.5 kg of quicklime, which is diluted in 10 liters of water. It is also advisable to fumigate the room with special checkers designed to control pests and diseases.
Losses in crops are largely dependent on the quality of the tubers. They must be absolutely healthy, intact, dry. Frozen, cut, moldy, rotted and sprouted tubers are not to be stored. The technology of storing potatoes includes regular preventive examinations and disinfection. Storage and ventilation equipment must be in good condition.
Potatoes are usually laid for long-term storage after harvest. Within two weeks after the bookmark, he goes through a kind of "quarantine" period. At this time, the tubers are aged at temperatures from +12 to +18 ° C and high humidity of 85-90%. In this case, minor mechanical damage is healed and tuber integumentary tissue is strengthened. Keep in mind: the lower the temperature in the room, the longer the healing process will last. After this period, the temperature in the storage should be gradually reduced.
Potato storage depends on many factors, among which it should be noted air temperature, relative humidity, as well as the economic purpose of the potato (table, seed, starch, chips). The storage process begins with the establishment of the optimum temperature and lasts until the potato is used or sold.
Storage temperature is set depending on the purpose of the potato. It can vary between +2 - +12 ° C. Also, relative humidity has a huge impact on the safety of potatoes. It is unacceptable to store it in excessive humidity. Under such conditions, various tuber diseases develop and losses increase. Potato sprouts intensively, which negatively affects the quality of the products.
Reduced air humidity also affects the quality of tubers, as they are intensified drying and deterioration of food and seed properties.
Potato storage indoors is most often done in one of the following ways:
1. In bulk (the maximum height of the heaps is 5 m).
2. In boxes (the most convenient way, it allows mechanizing all processes on an industrial scale). Boxes are installed on pallets, which provides free air circulation.
3. In containers.
4. In bags (maximum storage height - 5 m).
An important condition for maintaining the quality of potatoes is active ventilation. The general ventilation system should ensure the normal supply of outdoor air to the potato storage, as well as its partial and complete recirculation in the room. Air exchange is carried out using a ventilation system: in the first week of storage - every day, and in the following weeks - every 3 days.
How to store potatoes for ordinary summer residents? Gardeners store potatoes in small cellars, cellars, piles or pits. To store the tubers in the basement or cellar, they are poured into a wooden lock with a wooden pallet with a layer of not more than 1 m or left in boxes.
In the absence of a special storage, potato tubers can be stored directly in the garden in prepared pits. To do this, dig a hole 2 m deep in the most elevated area. Tubers are laid in a layer up to 1 m, and on top they are covered with dry sand (10 cm). On top of the sand, the pit is filled to the brim with earth. In the cold it is insulated with peat, sawdust, leaves.
For the shoulder, small trenches or flattened platforms are used. Trench piles (depth up to 0.5 m) are ditches filled with tubers. Favorable temperature conditions are maintained thanks to the heat coming from the earth and generated during the "breathing" of tubers. Inside the collar, the temperature is regulated by changing the thickness of the warm shelter and supply and exhaust ventilation. The collars are laid in dry weather in the fall. Dry, permeable soils are suitable for them. The potato area is cleaned and then disinfected with lime fluff. The collars are made 2 x 5 m in size and up to 1 m high.