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On the Internet, the question is more and more often - is it necessary to pick flowers from potatoes? The question is quite controversial. Gardeners, amateur and professional agronomists still can not agree in opinion. Some advocate the timely removal of inflorescences. The main argument is that the potato spends on the color and the formation of seeds too much force, because of what the tubers do not have time to grow to full size. Others believe that the flowering of potatoes can not be interrupted, since each plant has a certain development cycle.
If you plan to collect seeds from potatoes for the further cultivation of tubers, then you should not pinch the tops of the plants, as well as tear off the inflorescences. In the event that potatoes are grown only for the purpose of obtaining a crop for personal consumption, the flowers can be cut off at the very beginning of their ovary.
Scientific Experiment
Not finding the answer to the question of whether to cut flowers off potatoes, representatives of the scientific community decided to conduct an experiment. For this purpose, three rows of potatoes of the same variety were planted. The first landing left the way it is. Flowers and buds are not cut short, allowing the potato to go through the entire cycle of full development. In the second row, the tops of the plant were pinched a little, and on the third they completely removed all the flowers and buds.
At the end of the potato growing season, when it was time to harvest, scientists obtained the following experimental results:
- In the first garden, where the potatoes went through a full development stage, there was a slight growth on the bushesnumber of tubers. However, all of them had a clear shape, as well as a large size.
- In the garden, where the inflorescences were completely removed, a large number of potato tubers of small size were observed. Large tubers were found in isolated cases.
At the end of the experiment, the agronomists came to the logical conclusions:
- The size and number of tubers directly depend on the removal of inflorescences, as well as pinching the tops.
- Injury of potatoes, which is observed when the flowers break, increases the time of ripening of tubers. This is due to the fact that the plant spends enormous forces to restore the injured stems.
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Potatoes, which have cut flowers and pinned tops, are most susceptible to disease. The most dangerous disease is recognized late blight, which can kill up to 70% of the entire crop.
Gardening tips
Before deciding whether to pick potato flowers, several basic recommendations should be taken into account:
- First, pay special attention to the climatic conditions in which the plant develops. It is believed that in areas with arid and windy climate, most colors are sterile. In other words, there is no seed formation at the end of the growing season of the potato. Energy for ripening is not wasted. Thus, traumatizing a plant in such a case would be an unnecessary risk.
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Secondly, do not forget about plant safety and quarantine measures. Picking flowers of potatoes, a man walks between the rows. This causes trampling of the soil. Due to the large size of the bushes hilling beds impossible. Hard rocks inhibit the development of tubers, which will affect the yield of potatoes. - Thirdly, a person is a carrier of fungal and bacterial diseases. Removing inflorescences, pathogens, viruses and bacteria spread from bush to bush. Ultimately, this can be the cause of the death of the crop.
If the decision on whether to cut flowers from potatoes was positive, then it should be remembered that this process should be carried out before the buds have gathered color. If time is lost, the inflorescences should be left until the seeds ripen.
Is there really a relationship between yield and flowering potatoes?
To finally dot the i, it is necessary to evaluate the relationship between seed formation and tuber maturing. Organic substances that are formed in the potato stalk and leaves are redistributed in an appropriate proportion between all the organs of the plant. Including most of the nutrients leaves inflorescences, where seeds are formed.
It is believed that about 25% leaves flowers, 24-25% - leaves and stem. The remaining substances are sent to the tubers. In other words, when the potato has flowers, much less organic matter is allocated for the development of tubers. The amount of starch decreases. Tubers become small, take fancy shapes. If you use the tubers for planting next year, the yield will fall another two times.
Thus, the yield of potatoes really depends on the presence of flowers in the plant. However, you should not make a decision about the complete removal of the flowers of potatoes. After all, this double-edged sword, which was confirmed by a scientific experiment.
