Planting potatoes Adretta – growing rules and secrets of care
Adrett’s planting potatoes are a German medium early variety, bred in 1977. It has become a real find for gardeners who value unpretentious care, high yield and excellent taste of potato tubers. It is these properties that ensured the Adretta variety wide popularity both among novice gardeners and among large farms..
Adrett’s planting potatoes – characteristic features of the species
In the 60-70s of the last century, potatoes with yellow pulp were considered fodder and were used exclusively as feed for farm animals. In 1977, German breeders managed to bring out the Adretta planting potato variety, which made a splash with its yellow pulp and excellent taste..
Botanical description of the Adretta potato variety:
- The duration of ripening is average – 70-90 days.
- Potato bushes are low (up to 60-70 cm), erect. The surface of the sheet plates is rough.
- The leaves are large, light green in color. Potato tops of medium density.
- During the flowering period, the bushes are covered with abundant and large inflorescences, consisting of snow-white flowers.
- From each bush, 15-25 tubers weighing 12-180 g, rounded or oblong, with small eyes and rough skin are harvested.
Adretta’s potatoes are distinguished by high yield rates – if all the requirements of agricultural cultivation are met, up to 43-45 tons of crop can be harvested from 1 hectare (50-80 kg per square meter).
The tubers of Adretta potatoes are distinguished by good keeping quality and the ability to preserve marketable and taste qualities during prolonged transportation.
Planting Adretta potatoes
The optimal time for planting Adretta potatoes is the last days of April or the first decade of May, when the soil temperature warms up to + 10 ° C. The culture is best grown on loose loamy or sandy loam soils..
For growing Adretta planting potatoes, black soil or clay soil can also be used – but it must be fed with litter manure containing hay and straw.
Site selection and preparatory work
For growing Adretta potatoes, open, evenly lit areas, protected from drafts, are suitable. The beds should not be placed in the shade of trees or buildings – this will lead to the fact that only tops will grow and will negatively affect the size of root crops.
3-4 weeks before planting, you can start germinating seed potatoes. To do this, it must be transferred from the basement or cellar to a lighted place and left for 5-7 days..
For planting, healthy medium-sized tubers are used, without traces of rot and damage. If the fruits are very large, they can be cut in half..
The site for planting potatoes must be prepared in the fall – dug to a depth of 8-12 cm, fertilize with humus. In the spring, 2 weeks before planting, you should re-dig the soil and prepare the holes.
Potato planting algorithm
To plant Adretta potatoes, you need to prepare holes – their depth should be about 9-12 cm.A gap of 35-45 cm should be left between the holes, 45-50 cm between the rows for the convenience of hilling and weeding.
Landing technique:
- pour a handful of ash or mineral fertilizers into each hole;
- after that, inside the hole, you need to place the potato tuber with seedlings up;
- a large potato can be cut into several parts – each of them must have a peephole;
- sprinkle the hole with soil.
After that, water each hole abundantly, and carefully level the soil with a rake. This will prevent rapid evaporation of moisture..
Rules for caring for Adretta potatoes
Planting and caring for Adretta potatoes are no different from standard procedures for growing this crop. Timely watering and subcrusting, loosening, weeding, disease and pest control will help to get a good potato harvest.
Watering and feeding
The characteristic of the Adretta potato variety classifies it as a moisture-loving crop. Bushes require regular watering – it is carried out as the top layer of the soil dries up. One plant consumes up to 4 liters of water. You can water potatoes either from a watering can or by sprinkling.
After watering, the soil must be loosened. This will help maintain proper moisture levels and prevent crusty crustiness..
Potatoes of the Adretta variety do not need a lot of nitrogen, so nitrogen-containing fertilizers must be applied very carefully and in minimal proportions. With an excess of nitrogen, potatoes begin to grow green mass.
If the shoots and tops of the plant become weak and lethargic, this indicates a lack of mineral elements. To remedy the situation, urea is introduced – 7 g, diluted in 5 liters of water. You can also use a solution of poultry droppings at the rate of 250 g per 5 liters of water..
Re-feeding is carried out during the formation of buds – for this you need to mix ½ a tablespoon of potassium sulfate and 2 tablespoons of ash per ½ buckets of water. Consumption for each plant is 600 ml of top dressing.
During the flowering period, you can feed the plant a third time – this activates the formation of tubers and has a positive effect on their size. For this purpose, Adrett’s potatoes are sprayed with a superphosphate solution – 50 g per 5 liters of water.
Hilling helps to retain moisture in the soil and improve oxygenation of the plant. Therefore, this procedure is an indispensable part of the care of Adretta potatoes. It is necessary to huddle the beds twice during the growing season. The first time when the sprouts reach 7-10 cm in height and also 20 cm.
Diseases and pests
Potatoes of the Adretta variety are resistant to viruses and cancer. However, the variety can be affected by scab, late blight of foliage and tubers, rhizoctonia.
Plant treatment depends on the specific disease:
- Scab – accompanied by the appearance of dry or wet rot on potato tubers. To combat scab, the preparations Ordan, Mankotseb, Acrobat, Maxim are used.
- Late blight – can be determined by the appearance of a whitish bloom and dark spots on the foliage, gray rot on roots. Applied Bravo, Alufit, Oxyhom.
- Rhizoctonia – spots and dark lesions appear on the tubers, after which the death of their tissues begins. The fight against the disease is carried out using the drugs Quadris or Maxim.
- Black leg – potato shoots and foliage begin to deform, wither and rot. After detecting signs of the disease, the affected bush must be removed from the garden. Treat the soil with ash with the addition of copper sulfate.
The main insect pests in potato beds are Colorado beetles. To kill insects, plants are sprayed with herbicides Aktara, Prestige, Killer, Fitoverm, Calypso.
Adrett’s planting potatoes are one of the most popular among Russian gardeners. It has earned its popularity due to its ease of growing and unpretentious care. Possessing good immunity to viruses and cancer, high yield and pleasant taste of potato tubers.
