For increase potato yield on poor-quality soil, senication and desiccation are used. Agronomic techniques help increase the mass of potato tubers and the quality of root crops. Desiccation and senication of potatoes are used both on an industrial scale and in summer cottages.
Potato senication, what is it?
The senication procedure is the treatment of tops with chemicals in preparation for harvesting.The non-toxic chemical used is a solution of double phosphate or liquid complex fertilizer. The main reasons for carrying out agricultural reception are as follows:
- Spraying plants completely stops the growth of stems, due to which the outflow of photosynthesis products from the tops into the root crops is activated and they ripen more actively.
- The proportion of starch and protein in the tubers increases, and the nitrate content is reduced to a level that is safe for human health.
- By acquiring a denser peel after processing, the tubers are less damaged during harvesting, and the overall yield increases by 15–20%.
- Under the influence of a chemical solution, the risk of contamination of soil and vegetation with late blight and rhizoctonia is reduced.
- The solutions used for senication of potato crops contain biogenic elements necessary for proper metabolism in plants.
Senication is very useful if you want to store the crop for long-term storage. As a result of processing, the starchiness of the tubers increases and the cork tissue thickens. The harvested crop not only receives useful macro- and microelements, but also acquires an attractive presentation.
How to perform senication?
If it is necessary to quickly process a large industrial site, the aviation method is used. To work in a garden or summer cottage, a sprayer and a chemical protective suit will be sufficient. When spraying tops with hand sprayers, the consumption of the working solution should be 10 liters per 50–60 m of land.
You can start senication only in the early morning or evening in warm, windless weather. Treatment of tops will give the greatest effect 20–25 days before harvest, when the period of mass flowering is observed.
The processing method is simple - you need to pour the prepared solution into the sprayer and apply it evenly on the potato tops. If it rains immediately after treatment, the procedure should be repeated when the dew has dried.
Senication with superphosphate
Using superphosphate as a chemical, you must first prepare the solution. To do this, 2 kg of double phosphate is diluted with 10 liters of water and infused throughout the day, stirring occasionally. When the solution has settled a little, the light part of the product is drained and used to spray potato tops at a rate of 2 liters per 100 square meters. m.
In addition, for each liter of water, 0.1 g of herbicide should be added, which initiates the process of the release of carbohydrates and nitrogenous substances from the leaves and helps saturate the tubers with them. The superphosphate mixture must be prepared one day before use. During this period, all the granules will have time to dissolve and the resulting solution will receive a sufficient amount of active components.
Provided that the procedure is carried out correctly, climatic conditions and soil conditions are favorable, senication can lead to the complete death of the tops. This will eliminate the need to manually remove it before harvesting root crops.
Other preparations for treatment
With the exception of superphosphate, for chemical spraying of tops you can use a complex fertilizer that contains ammonium polyphosphate. Before use, a herbicide with a concentration of 0.01% must be added to the fertilizer. One hundred square meters of land will require 30 liters of liquid fertilizer and 10 g of herbicide.
In order to increase the yield of young potatoes, it is recommended to use a more complex solution, including superphosphate, potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Each component is required in a concentration of 2–5%.The total consumption of the working solution will be 10 liters per 60–75 meters. Treatment with this solution is also carried out during the flowering period.
To increase the amount of potassium and beneficial nutrients in the tubers, you can treat the plants with ash. Potato beds should be covered with a dense layer one and a half weeks after the start of the flowering phase. During the ripening period of root crops, you can spray the above-ground parts of the crop with a concentrated solution of humate, which is used as foliar feeding of seedlings.
Desiccation: description of the technique
When caring for beds, experienced gardeners carry out, in addition to senication, chemical treatment, which leads to the drying out of the tops. The principle of action is to change the processes of metabolism and photosynthesis in stems and leaves. This makes ripening more uniform and improves the biochemical content of substances in the crop.
When is the treatment applied?
Plant desiccation is required when the crop is severely affected by late blight during the growing process. The result of spraying will be noticeable after 10–14 days - the tops will begin to dry out and crumble. The agricultural technique can also be used in cases where the tops are not infected with the disease, but its abundance complicates harvesting. It is also necessary to treat the crop with desiccants if the root crops are grown in damp, cool weather and when the crops ripen unevenly.
How is desiccation carried out?
To carry out desiccation, just put the product in a spray bottle and treat the entire surface of the tops. Work on tops processing begins a week before harvest for food crops and 10–12 days before seed potato varieties. When processing, it is important to maintain uniform spraying so that all the tops are covered with a proportionate amount of the drug.
Desiccants
Common desiccants include magnesium chlorate with a concentration of 60% for ware potatoes (application rate per hectare - 25-30 kg), a solution of Reglon with a concentration of 20% for seed planting (application rate - 2 liters per hectare). Also suitable for desiccation is the universal preparation Harveyd 25 F, suitable for all varieties of potatoes. Per hectare of land you will need about 3 kg of Harveyde.
Removing tops
Pre-harvest removal of tops using non-toxic chemicals is an important agricultural practice necessary on a plot of land of any size. Mowing wilted tops helps improve the soil, speed up the ripening of root crops, improve the quality of the harvest, and dry out the beds for the next planting. Vegetation can be removed even before treatment with a chemical solution if there are tall stems.
Getting rid of excess tops ensures good absorption of the herbicide and prevents leaf regrowth.
If the tops are removed after desiccation, then the green vegetation will also be destroyed and its dry remains will need to be removed after a week. This is most important when there are thick stems that create an obstacle for potato harvesting equipment. Timely removal of tops accelerates the growth of skin on root crops and allows you to get enough of the maximum possible amount of vitamins and nutritional components.
When removing potato tops, it is important to follow the list of rules:
- Vegetation should not be mowed or removed earlier than a week before harvesting, since prolonged presence of tubers in the soil without external tops can lead to infection with dangerous diseases.A later agricultural practice, on the contrary, will not allow the skins of root crops to become sufficiently strong.
- If the tops were infected with late blight before treatment, they must be burned in order to prevent the spread of the disease.
- The procedure can be performed in two successive stages - first, cut off only the upper part of the tops with the bulk of the leaves, and after a week, carry out a further cut.
- It is not recommended to completely remove the stems and cut them down to soil level, as this will interfere with visually finding the location of the fruit nests of root crops. The optimal size of cut stems is about 20–25 cm.
To clean vegetation, you can use both manual methods and specialized equipment. Top removal machines equipped with cutting blades help speed up the process. The equipment cuts off the tops, crushes them and sends them to the internal compartment. To facilitate the work process, you can combine both methods and alternate techniques, depending on the current state of the soil and vegetation.
