Content
Description of the Madeleine potato variety, photos and reviews characterize it as an early ripening culture with high marketability and taste. Madeleine potatoes are suitable for private and farm cultivation. The tubers are not damaged by mechanical harvesting and are suitable for sale washed. Madeleine potatoes adapt well to soil and are promising, high-yielding varieties.
Description of the Madeleine potato variety
Madeleine potatoes belong to the Dutch selection. Included in the Russian State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2011. Recommended for cultivation in the Central, Volgo-Vyatka, East Siberian and Far Eastern regions. The bush is semi-erect, medium to high in size. The leaves are large, light green in color with a medium to strong waviness at the edge. The flowers are white.
The Madeleine variety is early maturing, the ripening period passes from the emergence of shoots in 80 days. The first digging can be carried out after 45 days, getting about 1 kg of potatoes from 1 sq. m. When digging after 3 months of cultivation, the maximum yield is 3.2 kg per 1 sq. m. m.
The tuber is oval in shape, with a light yellow skin. The eyes are small to medium. The pulp is creamy yellow, firm. Marketable potato weight - 84-118 g. Size in length - 9-14 cm, in diameter - 7-8 cm. Commodity indicators - 80-93%, keeping quality - 91%.
Taste qualities of Madeleine potatoes
Madeleine potatoes contain a low amount of starch - 11.6-14.7%. This indicator allows you to maintain shape during cooking and is especially suitable for making soups and salads. The tuber does not change color during processing and does not darken when cut. The purpose of the variety is table.
In the characteristics and reviews of the Madeleine potato variety, taste is declared from good to excellent, depending on the growing conditions. The aroma is weak. The tubers contain an increased amount of useful micro- and macroelements, antioxidants and amino acids.
Pros and cons of the variety
The Madeline variety is well acclimatized and widely zoned in the territory of Russia. Resistant to temperature extremes and slightly whimsical to soil.
Advantages of the variety:
- early maturation;
- leveled root crops with high commercial characteristics;
- productive, with good yields;
- well transported;
- not susceptible to damage during various types of cleaning;
- has good storage performance for an early culture;
- resistance to certain diseases.
The peculiarities of the variety include the need for planting, in heated soil and pre-planting preparation of tubers. The disadvantages include the instability to infection with late blight tops.
Planting and caring for Madeleine potatoes
The early potatoes of the Madeleine variety contain several times more vitamins than the varieties of later ripening periods. To obtain useful tubers, potatoes are grown on fertile soil in compliance with crop rotation. Potatoes of the Madeleine variety grow well after vegetables, the fruits of which appear above the ground, for example, peas, zucchini, corn.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Early potatoes are best planted in open areas on the south and southwest sides.You should not choose places, even partially shaded by trees, on the north side and areas where melt water lingers for a long time.
Cultivation of a crop on heavy and clayey soils will not bring a high yield due to the inability of the roots to push apart dense soil layers and develop correctly. Sandy, loose soils with neutral acidity are preferred for planting. The planting site is enriched in advance. To do this, in the fall of the previous season, green manures are planted on the field or fertilizers are applied.
In the autumn period, deep plowing of the planting site is recommended - to a depth of 28-30 cm. In the spring, after thawing and drying of the soil, loosening is carried out. The soil for planting should not get dirty, it should be warm and crumbly.
Preparation of planting material
In the spring, at the onset of positive temperatures, the preparation of planting material begins. Proper preparation speeds up the germination of tubers in the soil and shortens the overall life of the plant. This allows you to get the harvest as early as possible.
Tuber preparation scheme:
- Sorting. The planting material is checked and sorted out specimens with signs of bacterial and viral diseases, as well as with the presence of rot or mold.
- Calibration. The seed potatoes are sorted by size. Medium and large fractions are subsequently planted separately from each other to obtain even seedlings. Small potatoes are not recommended for early harvest. A small supply of nutrients in such tubers slows down the emergence of seedlings.
- Germination. Tubers are laid out in the light in a warm room. When germinating, it is important to observe the thermal regime, a long stay at a temperature of + 20 ° C causes the accumulation of substances that inhibit growth, which reduces the quality of the planting potatoes. Therefore, the temperature of + 18 ... + 20 ° С is maintained only in the first week, and during the next two weeks the temperature is reduced to + 10 ° С. Indoor humidity also matters. Proper development of tubers is obtained when the air humidity is 85-90%. Arid air will cause the tuber to lose moisture, which is necessary for plants to germinate outdoors. The room where potatoes are germinated should be periodically ventilated.
- Tuber processing. To protect against diseases and attack by pests, especially in the initial phase of growth, tubers are treated with insecticidal and fungicidal preparations. Processing is carried out several hours before planting, so that the tubers have time to dry out slightly.
During the preparation and germination of seed potatoes, there is an additional opportunity to detect infected tubers. In such potatoes, the end of the sprouts turns black. They are not suitable for planting.
Landing rules
At the onset of constant positive air temperatures above + 10 ° C, potatoes are planted. In different regions, this is the beginning or the middle of May. The usual planting method is row planting. For an even landing, the rows are outlined with a stretched cord. The distance between tubers depends on the size of the planting material and the nutritional value of the soil. The early Madeleine potato can be planted more frequently than the later ripening varieties. The usual planting pattern assumes a row spacing of 25-30 cm and a row spacing of 70 cm.
Watering and feeding
The culture is demanding for watering. On dry soils, the Madeleine variety gives a weak yield. The first watering is carried out after the green overground mass has grown to a height of 5-10 cm. Before this phase, the plant receives enough moisture from the mother tuber. Also during this period, the culture needs to form a strong root system.
With the further growth of the bush, it is necessary to take into account the seasonal amount of precipitation and moisten the soil, preventing it from drying out. In order for the potatoes to have the correct shape, the watering must be leveled. At a time, use 2-3 liters of water per bush.The most effective is drip irrigation and pouring into furrows using heated water.
Potatoes during the growing season consume a large amount of nutrients from the soil. But mineral fertilizers are best applied in the previous season.
When nitrogen is used during the growing season, the element does not have time to decay into a form accessible to the plant and accumulates in the root crop, in the form of nitrates. Rotted manure is considered the optimal organic fertilizer for potatoes. For feeding, use an infusion of grass and poultry droppings.
Loosening and weeding
Potatoes take a long period from planting to the release of the vegetative mass. At this time, on the field quickly appear weeds... Grasses take a large amount of moisture and nutrients from the soil. Therefore, weeding begins already from the 5th day after planting, they are combined with loosening for better soil aeration.
Further harrowing is repeated at weekly intervals. Loosening helps break up the soil crust that forms after watering or rainfall.
Hilling
Hilling is the pouring of soil from the rows to potato bushes with the formation of high ridges. An agrotechnical technique is necessary so that additional tuber formation occurs in the soil, and the leaf mass does not die. At the moment of hilling, additional loosening of the soil and removal of weeds also occurs.
Hilling is carried out several times during the growing season, to a lesser extent on sandy soils. The first hilling helps to protect plants from recurrent frosts; it is carried out during the period when the aerial part emerges by 5-10 cm.
The second hilling is carried out several weeks after the first, each time adding soil to the plants by one third. The hilling process can be replaced by mulching plantings with cut grass or growing potatoes in green manure plantings.
Diseases and pests
In the description and reviews of the Madeleine potato variety, its susceptibility to the attack of the Colorado potato beetle is indicated. Spraying with infusions with pungent odors, for example, garlic, helps from the insect. As well as planting fragrant herbs and spices next to potatoes. Beetles prefer to attack plants with softer, weakened foliage, including those overfed with nitrogen.
The Madeleine potato variety is resistant to such diseases and pests:
- potato cancer;
- golden potato cyst nematode;
- striped mosaic;
- late blight of tubers.
Potato tops are not resistant to late blight. To combat fungal infections, preparations containing copper are used.
Potato yield
The yield of the Madeleine variety, taking into account the early ripening period, is high. On the bush, 8-10 potatoes of an even size are formed. At the time of full ripening, the yield is 2.5-3.2 kg per 1 sq. m.
Harvesting and storage
Harvesting of the Madeleine variety can take place several times: in the middle and at the end of the growing season. Only fully ripe potatoes are removed for storage. It becomes ripe after wilting of the tops and compaction of the peel. The culture is stored in dry ventilated rooms at a temperature of about + 2 ... + 5 ° C.
Conclusion
Description of the Madeleine potato variety, photos and reviews show a productive crop for growing in personal and farm households. Lined potatoes with a smooth skin and low eye opening are good for sale and storage. The variety is distinguished by early ripening with the possibility of the first digging after 45 days. It adapts well to the soil and climate in the growing area.
