Breeders bred a large number of varieties of potatoes. Among them is also listed such a variety as Irbitsky. It is gaining great popularity among gardeners, although it was introduced relatively recently. The variety is distinguished by excellent taste, precocity of ripening and high productivity.
Grade description
Irbit potato is a mid-season variety with a table purpose. Details of its characteristics can be found in the table:
Criterion | Description |
Originator | GNU Ural Research Institute of the Russian Agricultural Academy. |
Ripening period | It counts 65-70 days. |
Productivity | On average - 250-400 kg / ha, the maximum figure is 468 kg / ha. From one bush you can get from 6 to 10 tubers. |
Type of plant | Semi-upright, intermediate type. The stems are straight, with a height of 50 to 60 cm, strongly stained with anthocyanin. Medium leafy, with large to medium sized leaves, dark green in color and of moderate section. The flowering is plentiful, positive. Inflorescences are large, sprawling. Corollas of medium size and red-violet color. |
Weight and appearance of a commodity tuber | Ripened potatoes weigh from 110 to 200 g. It has a rounded elongated shape, smooth pink skin with small eyes and yellow flesh. |
Starch content | 13.0 to 16.5% |
Marketability | High - 81-96% |
Keeping | Good - 97% |
Disease resistance | The variety is highly resistant to potato cancer, golden nematode, wrinkled and banded mosaic, leaf curling virus. The plant is more susceptible to the causative agent of late blight. |
Preferred regions for growing | It is entered in the State Register of the Russian Federation for landing in the Volga-Vyatka and West Siberian regions. In addition, it is grown in other countries, including Moldova and Ukraine. |
When to plant?
To get an early harvest, planting seeds in the last decade of April. Irbit potatoes can be planted much later than the early varieties. This time falls on the second decade of May.
In order not to be mistaken with the timing of planting, it is important to proceed from climatic conditions. The soil should warm up to 7-8 ° C at a depth of 12 cm. Some gardeners plant potatoes at a temperature of + 30 ° C, but in this case, the planting material must be sprouted. If you plant potatoes in unheated soil, then the average yield will decrease by 20%.
With early planting, the root crop manages to form a powerful root system that guarantees the health and development of this plant.
National signs will also help determine the potato planting period. They say that you need to plant potatoes when green leaves the size of a coin appear and grow on a birch. The fact is that birch begins to bloom when the soil temperature is about 8 ° C at a depth of 10 cm. It is important that the soil is a little moist and the clods crumble well.
Soil selection and preparation
It is very important to choose a good place to grow potatoes. It should be open and well lit by the sun. In partial shade, the yield is small, and the tubers grow small. In addition, it is important that the site is not located in a lowland where groundwater stagnates. The best predecessors of potatoes are winter and leguminous crops, flax.
Getting a good crop also depends on the type of soil. The most fertile are chernozem and peat. Potatoes will grow poorly in clay soil, as water will linger in it. However, if sand, wood ash, compost or manure are added to the clay soil, it will also be suitable for growing the variety in question. In general, Irbit potatoes are considered unpretentious, therefore, they can even grow in sandy soil if lupine grew on the site before it.
On the selected site, it is important to complete all the preparatory work in advance, which are divided into two stages:
- Work in the autumn. Already in the fall, you should start preparing the site for planting potatoes in spring. To do this, make fertilizers and dig the ground. But after it it is not necessary to level it with a rake, but it is better to leave it so that insects and fungi that can harm the culture die. In addition, under such conditions, the soil is well saturated with moisture.
- Spring work. So that the crust does not form on the soil and breathes, in the spring it is necessary to loosen it to a depth of 15 cm. Once is enough if the soil is sandy and sandy. If the soil is clay, loosening is done twice before planting. At the same time, it is important not to dig with a shovel, namely to loosen with a fork. You need to take a small layer of soil, raise it a little, without turning, and again return to the same place.
This preparation prevents the drying of the soil, as well as enriching it with oxygen. In addition, it is necessary to evaporate excess moisture in the area.
Preparing seeds for sowing
In order for the seed to take root well in the soil, it is necessary to properly prepare it:
- About 3-4 weeks before planting, vernalize, that is, sprout the eyes. To do this, remove the potatoes from the cellar, and then carefully sort through, removing rotted tubers. Move them to a warm room with room temperature and good lighting. It is advisable to lay the tubers in 2 layers in boxes or crates.
- Provide room humidity of about 80%.
- As soon as the potatoes begin to germinate, it is necessary to lower the air temperature to 12 ° C. This is necessary so that the root crop is subsequently adapted to lower temperatures. Sprouts will not be particularly stretched and get strong. It is best if they are about 1.5-2 cm.
- About a week before planting into the ground, large tubers are cut in half or 3 parts. It is important that each cut potato has germinated eyes. This is done so that the potato has time to become covered with a protective layer.
If there is no time to prepare the potatoes in advance, and you have to cut it right before planting, it is recommended that the cut point be treated with special means, for example, Prestige or Maxim.
Ways and technology landing
Potatoes can be planted using different methods. Some continue to plant using a shovel, while others choose a more modern method - landing using a walk-behind tractor. Each landing method deserves special attention.
Manual
If the plot is small, then this method of planting potatoes is suitable. It is carried out in the following order:
- Prepare pegs about 70 cm long. Attach a cord to them to a height of 10-15 cm from the bottom.
- Dig holes in the cord at a distance of about 20-25 cm. If it is smaller, then it will be inconvenient to carry out an earthing up. The depth of the pits is about 10 cm. In fact, it is half a shovel.
- In each hole add 1 tbsp. l fertilizers. This may be Azofoska, a handful of manure, a little compost.
- Put the tubers in the prepared wells with the sprout up.
- Pegs measure the distance equal to the row spacing from the holes back. When digging new holes, fill the previous rows with earth.
Landing can be done without a cord. In this case, you need to dig one hole, “start” it with fertilizer and potatoes, and then cover it with the soil obtained by digging the next hole. At the end of the work, the entire area should be leveled with a rake so that excessive evaporation of moisture does not occur.
If there is increased soil moisture at the potato planting site, then the groundwater is close. In this case, it is recommended to make ridges, raising the soil to a height of about 15 cm. The distance between them is about 50 cm. Potato tubers are planted in the ridges. In arid areas, this method is not applicable.
Using walk-behind tractor
In this case, equal furrows are cut into the motoblock, into which the tubers are laid. The optimal distance between the holes is 20-30 cm, and between the rows is not less than 50 cm. Then the tubers are closed using a rake or using a walk-behind tractor.
Some gardeners believe that the mechanical planting method affects the yield, since the walk-behind tractor loosens the earth better than a shovel.
Potato care
Although this variety is considered unpretentious, you still need to follow some rules of care. We will get acquainted with them further.
Watering
Irbit potatoes easily tolerate drought, but still, to get a good harvest, it is necessary to irrigate if the summer is dry and rains are rare. You can’t do without it during the period of seed rising, as well as when the potato picks up buds and blooms. It is advisable that the soil is moist at the time of tuber formation. This time falls on August.
When watering, it is necessary to ensure that there is no stagnation of water. The resulting crust must be crushed with a hoe so that oxygen is accessible to the roots.
Hilling
A prerequisite for growing potatoes is hilling. It is carried out 2 times a season. This is necessary to increase air access to the tubers. The first time the potatoes are spudded when the stalks grow to 15 cm. They try to fill the crest of the earth with about 20 cm. The next time when the stalks become about 30 cm. It is recommended to make the swelling after rain.
Feeding
Like all plants, Irbit potatoes need to be fed. The first time - after the first hilling. You can pour complex mineral fertilizers, but it is important to observe the proportion specified in the instructions.
If you add more nitrogen fertilizers, this will lead to active growth of tops, and tubers will be tied with a long delay.
Watering potatoes with slurry is also required, which is recommended to be prepared from chicken manure. But you need to remember that you need to correctly calculate the concentration, otherwise you can burn the plants. Usually take 1 part of chicken droppings and pour 15 parts of water. Insist a few days. Then they are watered at the rate of 1 liter per plant. When fertilizing, you need to fill this infusion under the very root, so as not to damage the stems and leaves.
It is useful to feed potatoes through the leaves. To do this, take nettle and insist it for several days, and then this infusion is sprayed with leaves. It is also recommended to water the potatoes with a solution obtained by mixing in 1 bucket of water 30 g of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers.
Pest and Disease Control
Irbit potatoes must be processed from such pests:
- Colorado potato beetle. It is considered the main and dangerous pest. If you do not take measures, then the larvae can completely destroy all the leaves, only bare stems remain. To prevent it from spreading, it is recommended to process potatoes with herbal remedies. This may be the infusion of wormwood, celandine or walnut leaves. Chemical preparations are also suitable - Aktara, Bankol, Colorado, Regent, etc. If the plot is small, it is recommended to collect the larvae by hand.
- Wireworm. This worm is considered the larva of the nutcracker. It penetrates the tuber, damaging it. After this, the potatoes can rot. The fight against it is to apply lime to the soil, if it is acidic. In addition, digging and loosening of the soil is required.
- Stem Nematodes. These are very small white worms about 0.4 cm in size. They are almost invisible when they settle on potato tubers. Nematodes damage its integrity. Only when the potatoes are dug up, they notice that the skin is peeling, and its upper layer blackens. To prevent the appearance of these worms, it is recommended to monitor the quality of the seeds, and dig the ground in the fall.
- Bears. This insect causes great harm to many plants, including potatoes. It lives in the earth. Constantly digs moves, cutting off roots and stems, and then damages tubers. It is necessary to fight the bear, preparing special baits, which should include boiled grain and poison in the form of Karbofos.
- Caterpillars scoops. They can be found everywhere on potatoes because they feed on leaves, stems and tubers. After them, the stems become damaged, and various kinds of rot form on the wounds. To combat them, biological products are used.
With regard to diseases, the danger is late blight. It often develops in cool and rainy weather, more reminiscent of potato rot, which spreads first on the stems and leaves. They turn yellow and become covered with grayish spots. After rain, the spores of the fungus fall on the ground and penetrate the tubers. When harvesting, it is imperceptible that the tubers are affected by late blight, but they are not stored for a long time, so they rot after a while.
For prevention, it is recommended to treat the tops with copper sulphate. It is necessary to dissolve 5 g of vitriol in 5 l of water, and after the resulting composition, sprinkle potato tops when the stems grow to a height of 20 cm.
When infected with late blight, potatoes cannot be treated.
Harvesting and storage
First you need to determine that the potato is ripe. This is evidenced by a slightly dried tops. Harvesting is carried out until the ground freezes. As a rule, it arrives at the end of August - the beginning of September. You must perform the following steps:
- Dig up potatoes, holding the tops with your left hand, and digging up the side of a row or ridge with your right hand.
- Take out the tubers by folding them in a bucket.
- At the end, pour the potatoes out of the blue, so that they dry in the sun.
- Sort the potatoes. Larger tubers are left for food, and of medium size, about the size of a chicken egg, set aside for seeds. If the tubers are mechanically damaged, remove them to the side, as they are not suitable for storage. In addition, remove the tubers with rot, as they can infect other potatoes.
- To keep the tubers well, sprinkle them with a solution of copper sulfate at the rate of 2 g per bucket of water.
Potatoes should be stored in a dry and cool place with a constant temperature. For example, a cellar is great. The temperature should not be below + 2 ° C and above + 4 ° C. For storage in the cellar, pour potatoes into bins, but the layers should not exceed 1.3 m, so that the tubers have good air access, and the moisture formed can evaporate. Potatoes can also be stored in boxes, but during the winter it is recommended to inspect its condition. If rotten potato appears, it is recommended to remove it.
Positive and negative qualities
The following characteristics are considered pluses of the variety:
- beautiful appearance;
- high shelf life;
- versatility in cooking;
- yellow flesh;
- excellent immunity to fungal and viral diseases;
- adaptability to weather conditions.
As for the negative characteristics, one can note an average resistance to late blight.
So, Irbit potatoes are an excellent variety for growing and storage. It grows best in the Volga-Vyatka and West Siberian regions, as well as in Ukraine and Moldova. Irbit potato is unpretentious, drought tolerant, rarely susceptible to disease, has a high yield and excellent taste.