For more than 25 years, Lasunok potatoes have been delighting Russian residents with their taste and productivity. The Belarusian variety has remained on the list of favorites for such a long time thanks to its undeniable advantages, the main ones being excellent taste, unpretentiousness, and the ability to grow in different climatic conditions. With minimal participation from a gardener, a one-hectare plot can produce 60 tons of potatoes.
Description of the variety
Lasunok belongs to the mid-late varieties, as it ripens in 90–120 days from the moment of germination.
Tall, erect bushes with powerful roots are covered with large leaves with hard fluff, which the voracious Colorado potato beetle does not like. Blooms for a long time, with voluminous white flowers.
Light cream, oval root vegetables with a mesh skin, an average weight of 200 g, have light flesh and small, recessed eyes. The friability of potatoes during cooking is due to the starch content of 22%. The amount of potassium is sufficient to maintain heart function, water balance in the body and normalize metabolism.
Due to its pleasant delicate taste with a creamy tint, the variety is suitable for baby food, making purees, first courses, casseroles, vegetable stews, chips, fries, starch. It is often used as a component of a mixture of frozen vegetables; after defrosting, it retains its properties.
The description of the variety contains one feature - even when planted with a 70x40 cm pattern, the bushes tightly close together. This has a detrimental effect on weeds and retains moisture in the soil. One plant produces up to 15 tubers, and up to 60 tons of selected potatoes are obtained from one hectare.
Growing
The place for planting the Lasunok variety should be slightly shaded. The type of soil is not important, however, the surface must be level. The ridge planting method is recommended on heavy soils. First, loosening, moistening, and weeding are carried out. The best predecessors for growing Lasunka potatoes are legumes, grains and winter crops.
Seed germination is carried out at a temperature of +5–7°C for several days. Large tubers are divided into several parts, taking into account the location of the eyes and sprouts.
The characteristics of Lasunok potatoes dictate planting in well-warmed soil: in April or May. The exact timing depends on your region of residence.Potatoes are planted according to a 70x40 cm pattern. Sand is poured into the bottom of the hole, then humus is laid out, watered with a weak solution of manganese and sprinkled with wood ash. Seeds are planted no deeper than 10 cm.
Features of care
Measures for caring for potatoes of the Lasunok variety come down to moderate, infrequent watering, killing weeds and hilling up the beds. Tubers do not need water in the first week after planting - excess moisture disrupts root formation. When the seedlings reach a height of 10 cm, they are hilled to a depth of 12 cm. During the growing season, complex mineral fertilizers with a moderate content of phosphorus and potassium are applied. The addition of urea or mullein is encouraged. Excess potassium fertilizers with the inclusion of chlorine reduce starchiness, autumn tuber growth and yield.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the Lasunok variety are:
- High yield.
- Excellent taste indicators.
- Immunity to the Colorado potato beetle.
- Resistance to late blight, nematode, potato canker, verticillium wilt, rhizoctonia, and viral diseases.
- Universal use of tubers.
Disadvantages of the variety:
- A short dormant period—Lasunok potatoes are recommended for cold storage (at +7° C).
- Does not tolerate heat and drought well. Lack of watering reduces yields.
- Delicate pulp structure. For lovers of crumbly dishes, this characteristic will be a plus, but for lovers of a crispy crust, it is better to turn to a different variety of potatoes.
Pests and diseases
Additional protection against major diseases and potato pests Lasunok is not required due to special immunity. You just need to keep the soil clean, avoiding microbial or fungal infections.Potato bushes have maximum resistance to cancer, late blight, verticillium wilt, black leg, common scab, and nematode.
Damage to the potato crop The lasunok is caused by a wireworm (the larva of a nutcracker beetle). It is also dangerous for seed material and sprouts. The larva of the insect pest lives in the soil for four years, therefore, when the first root crops with signs of damage are identified, soil treatment and seed protection measures are carried out. You can use traditional methods:
- By adding onion peels, mustard powder, pine needles or a solution of potassium permanganate to the hole when planting potatoes.
- Sowing green manure, for example, peas, mustard or phacelia.
- Reducing the acidity level of the soil using wood ash, legumes, and crushed eggshells.
The following procedures will help reduce the wireworm population:
- Maintaining crop rotation.
- Autumn and spring digging of the site.
- Active control of wheatgrass, a habitat for pests.
- Destruction of tops and debris remaining on the field after harvesting potatoes.
- Planting legumes nearby.
Harvest and storage
Digging potatoes Lasunok variety begins at the end of August and ends in mid-September. Both manual and mechanical harvesting methods are suitable. Only potatoes dried for several hours in the open air are sent for storage. After this, the root crops are sorted out in order to get rid of the affected specimens, and healthy fruits are placed in a cool basement or cellar.
Lasunka potatoes are stored in wooden boxes, nets or bins in bulk. In the room it is important to maintain a temperature of +1–2 °C with a humidity of up to 80%. Subject to the suggested rules, potato harvest lasts until spring.
Beginning gardeners and people who do not have enough time to carefully care for vegetable crops will appreciate the Lasunok potato variety. This unpretentious, high-yielding, large-fruited and tasty potato from Belarus will delight Russians for many decades to come.
