In 2005, Belarusian breeders registered the Zhuravinka potato. The new variety turned out to be very successful, not inferior in quality and yield to many Dutch ones. Potatoes are officially approved for cultivation in the Volga-Vyatka, Central and Northwestern regions.
General characteristics of the variety:
- mid-late;
- high marketable yield (177–242 c/ha);
- tubers are medium (90–140 g), oval-round, with small eyes, red;
- tasty, crumbly, with a high starch content (14.6–19.6%);
- the pulp is yellowish, does not darken for a long time in the air;
- suitable for the production of chips;
- excellent keeping quality (93%);
- resistant to diseases;
- high marketability (83–96%).
In reality, this variety is successfully cultivated in most regions of the country.
Growing
People often call this potato variety Zhuravushka. The bushes rarely produce fruits, so Zhuravinka is rarely cultivated from seeds.
The variety is medium late and not suitable for growing early new potatoes seedling method. Peculiarities of Zhuravinka cultivation are determined by increased tuber formation.
Seed material
Seed material is selected of medium size without signs of disease. Large potatoes can be cut and dried 2-3 days before planting. It is optimal to choose tubers weighing 80–100 g. Experienced vegetable growers, even at the growing stage, mark the strongest, healthiest bushes and take future seed material from them.
It is useful to “green” seed tubers; to do this, before storing them, keep them open to diffuse sunlight for a week.
It is better to store the selected potatoes separately from other vegetables and treat them with fungicides (Maxim preparation) before storing them.
25–30 days before planting, the tubers are sorted and treated with a nutrient composition: 10 g of boric acid and 2 g of copper sulfate are mixed in 10 liters of water and sprayed.
The tubers are scattered in one layer in a bright and warm place. After germination, the seed material is sorted again, weeding out potatoes with weak sprouts and signs of disease.
Site preparation
Potatoes are planted in a sunny area with neutral soil saturated with humus no more than once every 4 years. In the fall, the entire area is fertilized with manure and dug up.In the spring, the site is dug up again shallowly, and compost, vermicompost, and mineral fertilizers are added to the beds. Loosening components are added to heavy soils: straw, sawdust, peat, sand.
If there is a possibility of infection potato nematode, it is useful to sow the area with winter rye in the fall, and dig up all the seedlings deeply in May.
After harvesting potatoes, it is better to immediately sow the soil with lupine, legumes, and buckwheat. In the fall, all seedlings are dug up. Feedback from farmers about this “green” fertilizer is very enthusiastic. The soil structure is noticeably improved, saturated with organic matter and the balance of nutrients is restored.
Many vegetable growers practice planting plants that repel the Colorado potato beetle in potato rows: beans, spinach, coriander, tansy, calendula.
Planting and hilling
The Zhuravinka potato variety is demanding on the amount of free soil for each bush. If you place the rows too close to each other, the tubers will crawl to the surface due to lack of space.
The recommended pattern for this variety is 30×80. Planting dates are different for each region, ranging from late April to mid-May. It is important that young shoots are not caught by the last frost.
A week after planting, the beds with potatoes are carefully loosened shallowly so that the tubers receive enough oxygen.
When the seedlings reach 10–14 cm, the first hilling is carried out. If the days are dry and hot, water the beds a couple of days before so that the soil is soft and loose. The sprouts can be safely sprinkled with soil, leaving only the tops of the leaves. This will help the bushes form more additional stolons, which will then produce tubers. After 2 weeks, hilling is repeated.
Description of the plant
Semi-erect Zhuravinka bushes usually reach a medium size (50–55 cm) and have medium-sized, slightly wavy leaves of a dark green color. The small corolla of the plant is red-violet in color and rarely sets fruit. The tubers are red-pink in color with a rough skin.
Disease resistance
Description varieties from Belarusian potato originators Crane characterizes it as resistant to many common diseases:
- golden cyst nematode;
- common scab;
- potato cancer;
- blackleg;
- viruses X, M, S;
The variety has weak resistance to late blight of tubers and leaves, rhizoctonia, and viruses L and Y.
Watering
Watering potatoes before tubers begin to form should be moderate. Usually there is still frequent precipitation at this time. The bushes begin flowering simultaneously with the formation of tubers. From this moment on, watering Zhuravinka’s potato beds is increased, soil moisture is kept in the range of 80–85%. This is a prerequisite for normal tuber growth.
Feeding with fertilizers
The multi-tuberous variety Zhuravinka requires increased nutrition and soils saturated with organic matter, but does not tolerate excess nitrogen very well. Root feeding is carried out in the evening after watering before hilling and during flowering.
Dilute 1 liter of mullein or dung in 10 liters of water and add 2 tablespoons of superphosphate. 1 liter of fertilizer solution is poured under each bush.
Before flowering, it is useful to carry out foliar feeding. To do this, spray the bushes in the evening with a solution of 10 liters of water and 300 g of urea. You can replace it with an infusion of 100 g of ash in a bucket of water.
Harvest
Two weeks before the planned harvest of potatoes, the tops are mowed and removed outside the site.During this time, the tubers form a thicker and rougher skin. When harvesting, such tubers are less injured, are better stored, and contact of the tubers with possibly infected tops is eliminated. It is better to choose a dry, sunny day for harvesting. The dug up potatoes are dried for 3-4 hours under the sun. When harvesting in rainy weather, the tubers are dried under a canopy for a week.
Storage
Before storing, all tubers are carefully sorted. Potatoes with mechanical damage, signs of disease, and too small are set aside for immediate consumption. The healthiest medium-sized tubers are selected into separate boxes for planting next season.
The rest of the potatoes are stored in a ventilated basement at a temperature of 2–3 ⁰С. Relative air humidity should be 80–85%, for seed material 90–95% is better.
A month before storage, the room is treated with an antiseptic: 400 g of bleach is dissolved in 10 liters of water, allowed to settle, and the structures are sprayed with the liquid without sediment.
Taste and reviews
Many vegetable growers and potato lovers liked the crane. The yellowish flesh has a pleasant potato sweetness and is suitable for making delicious mashed potatoes and frying. The high starch content makes Crane nutritious with a rich taste. Peeled tubers do not darken for a long time in the air. In industry, this variety is used in the production of chips. Potatoes keep well and do not lose their taste throughout the entire storage period.
Reviews from vegetable growers about growing Zhuravinka are most often positive. The variety continues to gain popularity every season. Vegetable growers note excellent productivity; each bush consistently produces 15–20 tubers.With timely watering and fertilizing, almost all potatoes reach marketable size. Smooth oval-round reddish tubers have high marketability.
