The Tambov region has been famous for its potatoes for many years. Even in the markets, buyers always ask for Tambov potatoes. Many people in the region grow potatoes on their plots. And they plant it under favorable weather conditions in April, May. But gardeners do not always manage to get a rich harvest and keep the seeds until spring.
How to choose high-quality potato planting material for your personal plot, told the specialists of the Rosselkhoznadzor department for the Ryazan and Tambov regions.
This culture is easily affected by diseases: viral, bacterial, fungal and other infections penetrate the leaves and accumulate in the tubers. Therefore, if you need to purchase seeds, it is better to do so in specialized stores or seed farms.
– There you can get acquainted with the documents confirming that the potatoes have passed the inspection of varietal and planting qualities and meet the requirements of GOST, as well as checked for the presence of diseases, including quarantine ones, – noted the experts.
Potato varieties must be included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements approved for use on the territory of the Russian Federation and zoned for the climatic zone. According to GOST, its tubers must be healthy, whole, with a strengthened skin, dry and not germinated. But in the spring, sprouts may be present on potatoes, but not more than 5 mm. You can not buy tubers with burns, frost-bitten, ugly or peeled tubers.
Seed potatoes should not contain weed seeds that are of quarantine importance for the Russian Federation. Last year, no quarantine phytosanitary zones for potato diseases were recorded in the Tambov region. But the likelihood of the introduction of quarantine pests is still possible. Therefore, if dangerous symptoms are nevertheless noticed, you should report this to the Rosselkhoznadzor Administration for the Ryazan and Tambov regions.
It is necessary to prepare the tubers for planting competently: remove the diseased, not sprouted, with threadlike sprouts. Then place them in a place with diffused lighting, but not in direct sunlight. If there is high humidity in the room, not only eyes begin to develop on the potatoes, but roots also appear. The main thing is not to damage them before landing.
The plot on which it is planned to grow potatoes is also important. It is good if before that winter grain crops – rye, wheat, grew on it.
A rich crop of potatoes can be obtained by sowing them in pairs – an area where nothing was sown last year. It is not recommended to plant potatoes after tomatoes, peppers, eggplants. But on the soil, where the predecessors were carrots and beets, tubers can get sick.
When gardening in April, follow the lunar sowing calendar.