Since ancient times, potatoes have become the second bread for Russians. Without this culture, our table is incomplete. In order to ensure friendly seedlings and in the future a rich harvest of tubers, it is necessary to take care of planting material. Let's consider several options for how to sprout potatoes faster, what are the methods used for processing tubers, as well as the requirements for the room where they are stored.
Tubers for planting
If you consider the tuber, then on its smooth surface you can see the eyes. Of these, sprouts appear. Potatoes are carefully selected and specially prepared before planting. Before getting acquainted with the options for processing planting material, we will talk a little about the most popular varieties of this crop. There are types that are suitable for frying, for making mashed potatoes and chips. There are large varieties, such as potatoes Impala, Giant and others. By maturity, early, mid-early, mid-ripening, late are distinguished.
Selection and calibration
Once the crop is harvested, care must be taken to select the best quality tubers for seeds. They need to be sorted by weight, size. For planting, you need to choose tubers whose size does not exceed the size of a chicken egg. Try to avoid specimens that are affected by pests, have signs of disease, or are injured during digging. Thus, it is necessary to select potatoes for planting, devoid of any defects. Otherwise, it will not be stored. Before planting the tubers need another careful review. At the same time, those that have signs of frostbite are discarded, spoiled by pests, suffocated during storage, rotten, ugly. Only healthy tubers can increase yield by up to thirty-six percent and shorten the time from planting to digging potatoes by ten to fourteen days.
Room
To store potatoes after harvesting, it is necessary to prepare a dry and cool place. The temperature should be maintained no higher than 4 degrees. Previously, it can be treated with chemicals that prevent the development of mold, bacteria. As a rule, planting material is collected in wooden boxes and installed in cellars, compiled in stacks. The room is equipped with fluorescent lamps.
Conditions for germination of tubers
Experienced gardeners, gardeners or farmers involved in the cultivation of this crop can tell about how to properly sprout potatoes. First of all, after long-term storage in a cool place, the seed material must be transferred to another room where there is diffused sunlight and the temperature is higher. If you did not have wooden crates for storing them, you can replace them with a different container. For example, plastic bags. They definitely need to make holes with a diameter of 1.2-1.5 cm for the respiration of tubers. Each bag should contain four to five kilograms of potato. A similar method is suitable for tubers that have not yet sprouted sprouts. They appear after 25-30 days. Before sprouting potatoes for planting, the tubers must “wake up”. Suitable sprouts, reaching 2-3 centimeters. If strong and weak shoots develop on one tuber, then the filamentous shoots are best removed or completely reject such a tuber. It will not provide a high crop. In order for potatoes to sprout faster, they can create a shock temperature. It can be from 18 to 20 degrees heat. In the rest of the period it is reduced to 10-14 degrees. If germination takes place in conditions close to home, then the room temperature will help delay the process of emergence of sprouts. They will occur only after 35-40 days.
Tuber cutting
It is recommended that potatoes be cut into pieces before planting. This is most commonly used for large tubers. If potato by weight is from 160 to 200 grams, then it is enough to cut it into four parts. On each of the pieces (weighing 40 grams) must have one or two eyes. This operation can be carried out a week before landing or one and a half months. During cutting, the knife must be sterilized in a solution of lysol or in ash. A protective film forms at the cut point. Such an approach helps to solve several problems at once. The mother tuber, which serves for the development of a new plant, rots faster, more stems appear, and the yield is larger.
Landscaping
Acting on tubers with light is the most effective way to sprout potatoes for planting and ensure a high yield in the future. The seed material is poured in a single layer into boxes and put outside, under a canopy. From above they need to be covered with a film, which will ensure the preservation of moisture and heat. So they are kept for two weeks. Under the influence of the scattered rays of the sun, many sprouts appear, which reach from three to five millimeters. Chlorophyll begins to accumulate in the tubers, they turn green. This process helps strengthen the root system and foliage development of the future plant. Sprouts appear with many small leaves and are strongly rooted. They do not break off when landing.
Treatment of tubers with drugs
Since it is necessary to germinate potatoes before planting in order to increase productivity, you should not ignore the process of processing planting material with special fertilizers and compounds. A very effective way to soak tubers in a solution of superphosphate and ammonium nitrate. They take four kilograms per hundred liters of water, mix. Then tubers are lowered into the resulting solution and left for three hours. Such treatment contributes to the emergence of sprouts, early plant development, the formation of powerful bushes and increase productivity. The tubers are soaked for one hour before planting. The seed material that germinates in the light is sprayed with the same solution 1-2 days before planting. After that, it is recommended to cover it with a film. If the boxes are in the open, then it may be black to protect from the sun. The drug PP “Fitop-Flora-S” is also used. Finding out how to sprout potatoes with it is pretty simple. Before landing on the site, you need to dig a recess. Lay a film in it and sprinkle potatoes. Then it needs to be sprayed with fertilizer, covered with a film on top and left for an hour and a half. This treatment helps strengthen the immune system of tubers. You can increase the time of soaking the seed material before the appearance of sprouts.
Sawdust sprouting
Another effective option for sprouting potatoes for planting is to use wet sawdust. They can be replaced with peat, humus or chopped moss. Wet substrate is poured into wooden boxes. Its thickness should not be more than five centimeters. Seed material is laid on top of it. In this case, the tubers are placed tightly to each other, with eyes directed upwards. Then the potatoes are covered with another layer of substrate. In conclusion, you need to make mineral fertilizers. To prepare the solution you will need ten liters of water, 60 grams of superphosphate, 20 grams of potassium chloride, 30 grams of ammonium nitrate. A similar method allows you to sprout tubers within 15-20 days. In the room where the seed is stored, the temperature must be maintained from + 15 to +20 ° C. After two weeks, a good root system will develop. Here's another effective way to sprout potatoes for planting: cuts are recommended on tubers. They will stimulate the appearance of sprouts. They are performed in two ways. An incision is made either across the tuber, while leaving a small jumper of 1 centimeter, or along the ring to a depth of 1.5 centimeters. This method allows you to redistribute the beneficial substances entering the eyes. The result of such an operation will be the appearance of a large number of sprouts. Moreover, they are distributed throughout the tuber evenly.