There are more than 4,000 varieties of potatoes today, and each of them is unique in its own way and has individual distinctive features and characteristics. Unfortunately, not all of them were able to prove themselves as well as the Kamensky potato. He easily attracted the attention of a large number of novice gardeners and experienced agronomists. It would seem, what’s wrong with it? A description of the variety and all its advantages will answer this question.
Description of the variety
The early-ripening variety was bred by Ural breeders, who adapted it preferably for the West Siberian, Volga-Vyatka and Ural regions. It withstands drought well, is easy to care for and ripens within 50–60 days. The average weight of one tuber is from 110 to 130 g; the maximum recorded weight is 180 g. One bush can have 15–25 tubers, thus the yield of one hectare reaches 50–55 tons.
The size of the bushes varies from 50 to 70 cm; their leaves are of medium parameters, thick, with wavy edges, dark green on the outside and anthocyanin on the inside. The tubers themselves are oval-round in shape, red-pink in color, with a mesh skin and small superficial eyes. The pulp is light yellow in color, crispy, with a high starch content - 16–18%.
Distinctive characteristics of the variety:
- Potatoes have a double skin.
- Has good taste.
- It is capable of maintaining integrity during storage up to 97%.
- Has stable yield.
- Due to its early ripeness, it begins to germinate already at a temperature of +3 °C.
Growing
The first step is to select potatoes for planting or purchase tubers or seeds. If we are talking about the first option, then the tubers are put aside during harvesting. In this case, you can immediately see whether the bush is affected by the disease, what is the level and quality of its yield. Having selected good specimens of medium size, without damage or rot, they are put in a shady place.
After they dry, the seed is stored in a cellar or other similar place separately from the rest of the crop.
2–3 weeks before planting, the potatoes are transferred to a room with a temperature of +10–20 °C and laid in one or two layers to further prevent breakage of the sprouts. While the tubers are sprouting, they must be sprayed with a sufficient amount of water. In the first half of May, you need to choose a place well lit by the sun, fertilize the soil and plant sprouted potatoes 10–15 cm deep at a distance of 30 cm between the bushes and 60 between the rows.
Features of care
As mentioned earlier, the Kamensky potato variety is unpretentious in care and resistant during periods of drought. To achieve good yields, it is sufficient to timely loosen the soil, remove weeds as they appear and abundant watering during the potato flowering period. But the hilling procedure will not be superfluous:
- the first time it is carried out when the stems have just appeared and the length of the sprouts has reached 5–10 cm;
- the second time this is done when the bushes reach a height of 30 cm.
These actions help saturate the roots of the plant with oxygen and promote the growth of new stems, which directly affects the level of productivity.
Bushes can also be fertilized with slurry, previously diluted in water with bird droppings and mineral fertilizers. As for watering, you simply do not need to allow cracked soil to appear around the plant.
Advantages and disadvantages
Positive properties and features that the Kamensky potato variety has:
- Rapid ripening of the crop within two months.
- The potato belongs to elite varieties, and its taste was rated at 4.8 points on a five-point scale.
- The type of soil and weather conditions do not have a strong influence on yield indicators.
- Stores well in winter.
- Due to the thick peel, the tubers safely withstand long-term transportation without noticeable damage.
- It is not afraid of the scorching sun or shaded areas.
One of the disadvantages of this variety is the ability of tubers to germinate already at a temperature of +3 °C.
Pests and diseases
What was not mentioned in the list of advantages of the variety was its main distinguishing feature - absolute resistance to attacks by the Colorado potato beetle. This is explained by the fact that the insect is simply unable to bite through the powerful shoots and hard leaves of the plant.
In addition, there is good resistance to diseases such as potato canker, common scab, fusarium and various mosaics. But the plant already has average resistance to late blight.
The main weakness of the variety is considered to be its vulnerability to golden potato nematode. But here too there is a way to avoid crop loss. It will be enough to fertilize the soil with urea, which makes the soil acidic and unsuitable for the development of nematodes, and also do not forget about the crop rotation of the site.
Harvest and storage
Harvesting of the Kamensky variety usually takes place 60 days after planting the tubers. It is advisable to do this in sunny or clear weather, when the air temperature is about +20 °C, then the dug up potatoes can be left for some time in the fresh air so that they dry well and do not spoil during storage. In addition to sorting the seed, it will also be important to select the spoiled product from the rest so that only whole and healthy tubers are sent for storage. They are stored in a well-ventilated, dry room, the temperature of which does not reach +3 °C.
