
Potato Cultivation (Full Guide)




Introduction
in this article, I’m going to tell you about Potato Cultivation. Originated in Andes highlands in Peru and Europe hilly areas
Advantages
Humen Food
- Boil tubers
- As a curry
- Chips
- Sweets
Climatic Requirements
- The optimum day temperature is 20 – 25 Celcius
- Temperature different between day and night should be 10 Celcius
Soil Requirements




- Well-drained
- Sandy Loam Soil
- pH 5- 6
Recommended Varieties
Hillstar
Granala
Short oval, Yellow,Fairly rough skin yellow flesh fairly deep eyes 20 – 25
De siree
Good resistance to tuber blight long – oval shape red smooth skin pale yellow flesh shallow eyes. 15 – 20 t/ha
Kondor
Very large, Oval, Red Skin, moderately deep eyes. Yellow flesh yield 20 – 25 t/ha
Sante
Isna
Short oval yellow skin, Yellow flesh rather shallow eyes 20 t/ha
Raja
Local Varieties
Sita
Tolerance to the late bright round oval shape, Yellow skin white flesh shallow eyes 20 – 25 t/ha
Krushi
Tolerance to the late bright, Round oval shape yellow skin, white-yellow flesh, medium depth eyes 20t/ha
Lukshmi
Moderately resistance to the late blight round to oval shape, white skin with shallow skin
Menike
Round to oval shape, white skin with shallow eyes. 20 – 25 t/ha
Seed Potato Selection
- Seed Propagated by tubers
- Tuber should be true to type or genetically pure
- It should be free from infestation of pests and diseases like tuber moth, bacterial wilt (rind disease) and viruses
- It should be healthy well matured and uniform in sizes
- Each tuber should have 2-3cm long 3-5 sprouted buds
- It requires a rest period of about 2.5 to 3 months before they can be used for seed (Dormancy Period)
- Medium to big sized tuber should be used for planting
- Medium-sized tubers are planted hole big sized tubers are cut into pieces
- Each about 30g in weight and harvesting 3- 5 sprouted buds
Seed rate
Potato production for consumption:- 2500Kg /ha for seed potato production:- 4000Kg/ha
Removing the apical bud
The first sprout is broken from the seed tuber then the lateral shoots can be prepared tubers can be planted 2 weeks after broken the apical buds
This should not be done in physically weak tubers
Cultivation




Land selection
- Slop should be lesser than 40%
- Solanaceous crops have not been cultivated at the previous season
Land Preparation
- Plough up to the depth of 30 – 40cm.
- ridge and furrows are more suitable.
- spacing between two furrows:- 60cm depth of a furrow:- 18cm
- for seed potato cultivation spacing of two furrows in 45cm
Dolomite/Lime Application
- Dolomite/Lime is applied for red yellow podsolic soil to increase pH
- Rate – 1mt/ha
- Application time – 2 weeks before planting
Planting
Apply decomposed cow dung 10 -20 mt/ha or 5 -10mt of poultry manure into furrows and cover with thin soil layer. then apply inorganic fertilizer mixture
Spacing between two tubers
Diameter of tubers | Spacing between tubers |
15-27 | 15 |
29 – 35 | 25 |
36 – 45 | 45 |
46 – 55 | 60 |
Place the tubers and apply 4 – 6 cm deep soil layer to cover seed Potatoes
Fertilizer Application
There are different fertilizer recommendations for different cultivation areas
Irrigation
Should be irrigated well during dry period. Irrigation should be done at least 3 days interval
Earthing up
Earthing up is done after applying fertilizer. Earthing up is carried out when 15 – 20cm high.
it helps to,
- Prevent greening
- Increase the Yield
- Weed Control
- Keeps Soil loose
Weed Control
Weed Control is one of the most important aspects of Potato Cultivation. Field should be free from weeds.weeding can be controlled by applying a chemical herbicide. When earthing up weeds are controlled
Diseases
Potato late blight
- Phytophthora infections
- Fungi diseases
- Affect very seriously in humid weather
- Apply fungicides to control
Potato early bright
Potato mosuic virus
Bacterial Wilt
Common Scab
- Bacterial Disease
Black Leg
- Bacterial Disease
Pests
- Potato tuber moth
- Nettle grub
- Cutworm
- Mites
- Root eating ants
- Slugs
- Nematode
Harvesting




Harvesting is one of the most important aspects of Potato Cultivation. Potatoes are harvested when the tubers are finally grown
Harvesting indices
- 80% of leaves turn in to yellow colour
- Tubers can’t be pealed with fingers
Vegetative parts of potatoes are removed at the plant beds before 10 -14 days for harvesting
- This Practice helps to mature and thicken the skin
- Can be harvested without damaging tubers
check out my other article: Carrot Cultivation (Full Guide)