Preparation of potatoes for planting

Ideally, the preparation of potatoes for planting should begin in early April. The first thing you need to sort out all the tubers, leaving only suitable for planting. Which tubers are considered unfit? For landing do not fit:

• 
  too small (up to 25-30 g) and too large (more than 90-100 g) tubers;
• 
  ugly tubers;
• 
  tubers affected by diseases (wet or dry rot, scab, etc.);
• 
  tubers with spots on the skin (may be a sign of illness).

The preparation of potatoes continues with the sorting of tubers. All tubers suitable for planting are divided into three fractions: small (30-50 g), medium (50-75 g), large(75-90 g). The best planting material is the tubers of the middle fraction. Each fraction should be planted separately: if you plant potatoes of different sizes interspersed, then it will be "inconspicuous" and it will complicate the care of the plant.

In principle, you can plant and large tubers weighing more than 100 grams, but in this case, the preparation of potatoes has its own nuances. Each tuber is cut into 3-4 parts, the weight of each part should be at least 30 grams. On each part there should be 2-3 eyes. Do this in advance, 20-25 days before planting: the cork layer should be formed on the surface of the cut. But if you have enough tubers of the middle fraction, it is better to "not bother" with large potatoes.

There are several techniques that help to accelerate the emergence of potatoes. The choice of reception depends, among other things,how quickly the preparation of potatoes began: if you started it in a month, you will have time to germinate the tubers, and if you remember about planting for 10-15 days, you will be better suited for heating tubers. Let's dwell on some of the techniques in more detail.

Preparation of potatoes for planting may include heating tubers. This method is the simplest and is suitable in thatcase, if you remembered late enough about the forthcoming planting of potatoes. To do this, 10-15 days before planting, you need to bring the tubers into the living quarters, and then keep them at a temperature of 7-8 degrees.

You can also emergency heat-up 2-3 days before planting. The tubers are laid out in an isolated room, where the temperature rises to 35-40 degrees within 8 hours. Then you need to quickly ventilate the room so that the tubers are not soiled.

Another easy way to prepare - wailing at a temperature of 15-20 degrees. To do this, the tubers need to be disinfected, treated with a solution of copper sulfate, dried and decomposed in a dry place for 12-15 days. Illuminance does not matter.

But most often the preparation of potatoes is germinating tubers in the light about a month before planting. There are different ways of germinating tubers, we will tell about one of them. With the tubers selected for planting, remove all the sprouts and soak the tubers in water for an hour. Then spread the potatoes on a flat surface in one layer, a maximum of two. Sprout the potatoes in a room with natural diffuse lighting. The first 15 days the temperature should be 18-22 degrees, and when the shoots reach a length of 5 mm, you need to reduce it to 10 degrees. From the sprouting sprouts, leave the four highest, the rest break off. Before planting on potatoes should be thick green sprouts 1-3 cm long.

Potato preparation may also include treatment with mineral fertilizers, ash, growth regulators. For example, you can soak before dippingtubers in a solution of ammonium nitrate and superphosphate (400 g of each fertilizer per 10 liters of water). Be sure to dry them after this. And some gardeners powder the tubers with wood ash (30-50 kg of potatoes need 1 kg of ash). Growth regulators (eg, a solution of heteroauxin) are used according to the instructions.

Correct and timely preparation of potatoes for planting - the guarantee of a good harvest!