Article content:
video The answer to it will become clear after considering the vegetative features of this crop. Potatoes below the soil level develop relatively quickly dying off elongated side shoots, called stolons. They have elongated internodes, axillary buds and underdeveloped leaves. On stolons, shortened shoots develop, which are potato tubers. About when spud potatoes, read here!
The reasons why they spud
potatoes There are several reasons why they are hilling potatoes. And not all of them are associated with the formation of additional lateral shoots. The main reasons for the production of this procedure:
- Most often hilling potatoes are carried out in order to obtain a large number of additional side shoots - stolons, on which the tubers are formed. With regular hilling of plants, bushes actively grow and become more powerful. At the same time, the tubers are tied up with a greater amount of stolons, and a significant leaf mass of the plant promotes the supply to the lower parts of a sufficient amount of nutrients, which also leads to an increase in yield.
- Another important reason for hilling potatoes is the protection of young plants from late frosts. This event is especially important in the case when the potatoes are planted early or are cultivated in climatic zones with unstable climate. The land forming the mounds around the young stalks of potatoes serves as a kind of “blanket” for them. Hilling also protects against sudden frosts and vulnerable young shoots, which allows them to actively develop further.
- High mounds around potatoes do not allow strong winds to break and bend plant stems, which also has a beneficial effect on increasing yields.
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Some gardeners who prefer to plant this crop “under the shovel” are wondering if it is necessary to spud potatoes in this case, because the bulk of the lower part of the plant is deep in the ground. Hilling not only contributes to the formation of more stolons, it improves the structure of the soil, making it looser and more breathable. This is especially true in the cultivation of potatoes on dense and moist soils. - The procedure allows water to penetrate to the plant’s underground organs more quickly when it is watered or rain, which helps to ensure that they receive a sufficient amount of moisture.
- Hilling of potatoes helps reduce weeds in potato plantings. This is especially true of a plant such as wheat grass creeping, which, if it is not timely removed by its roots, can even penetrate into young tubers, violating their commercial value.
- For shallow planting and regular spuding of potatoes during harvest, it is easier to dig up the tubers, as this does not require “digging” deep into the ground. Thus, the procedure for harvesting tubers is not so laborious.
- Furrows, ridges and simple rows of minced potatoes are much easier to handle with products designed to kill harmful insects such as the Colorado potato beetle.
- Heaped plantings of potatoes are easier to handle with various cultivators and other agricultural equipment.
How and how many times to pile up?
Many novice gardeners do not know how to spud potatoes. The video clearly demonstrates that this procedure can be performed in a variety of ways. The most popular of them:
- Hilling hoe or hoe. This method is applicable if the area occupied by the plantings of this crop is not very significant.
- Hilling with a motor cultivator. With the help of such practical agricultural equipment, large areas of planting potatoes can be processed.
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Hilling using a mini-tractor is an ideal option for small farms, where quite significant areas of land are allocated for potatoes.
When hilling potatoes, it should be remembered that active development of tubers occurs only when the air temperature is no more than 25 ° C.At the same time the soil should always be loose and wet. Otherwise, the harvest will be very low, no matter how many times a gardener spud potatoes. That is why in dry and hot regions, where there is no possibility of regular watering, hilling is often refused at all.
How many times to spud potatoes? During the season it is necessary to carry out this procedure at least 2 times. The first time it is performed, when young plants just appeared out of the ground and reached 5-10 cm in height. Re-hilling is done when the stems reach a height of 15-20 cm and the appearance of buds.
The processing of potato beds is best done early in the morning or in the evening. And the soil should be wet. Ideally, the hilling of potatoes, after reaching 20 cm in height, is made every 2 weeks until its green mass closes.
