Content
Belarus has long been famous as a region where they love and know how to grow potatoes, it is not for nothing that it is even called the second homeland of this popular vegetable. The work of breeders to develop the best potato variety continues, and in recent years the Ragneda variety has been obtained, which, despite its relative youth, has already gained popularity among summer residents and gardeners.
Origin story
About 10 years ago, by crossing the Sorcerer and the form 1579-14, specialists of the breeders of the Scientific and Production Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Potato and Fruit and Vegetable Growing developed a new potato variety, which was named Ragneda.
In 2011, this potato was already registered in the State Register of Russia with a recommendation for cultivation in the Central and Northwestern Districts. But thanks to many interesting characteristics, the popularity of this potato variety is gaining momentum, and it is grown not only in Belarus and in the aforementioned regions, but also in many other regions of Russia and even in Ukraine. Seed material of this variety is easiest to acquire through the Institute of Potato Growing, located not far from Minsk in the village of Samokhvalovichi.
Description and characteristics
Ragneda potatoes belong to the mid-late varieties in terms of ripening - in order for the tubers to ripen well, it is necessary that from 95 to 110 days have passed from the moment the first shoots appear. Of course, to grow such potatoes, it will take more work and patience than for the early varieties, but the taste and yield will pay off all your efforts.
Potato bushes grow tall, with an abundance of leaves, do not have a particular tendency to spread to the sides, however, hilling will have a beneficial effect on increasing yields. Leaves are medium in size, even, with almost no waviness along the edge, have a color from light green to green.
The Ragneda variety is gaining great popularity, primarily due to its high yield rates.
And if you create good conditions for growth and development, then you can get up to 430 c / ha. For a gardener, especially a beginner, it is more interesting to know how many potato tubers can be harvested from one Ragneda bush. This amount can be 15-20, and this should be taken into account when planting potatoes - the tubers should be planted at a slightly greater distance than ordinary early varieties.
A feature of the Ragneda potato variety is that the plants adapt very well to different growing conditions and soils, therefore they are interesting for use in different regions and for beginners in gardening.
Root crops have the following characteristics:
- The shape of the tubers is oval-round, regular;
- The eyes can be either shallow or medium in depth;
- The rind is yellow and the flesh is creamy white;
- The tubers grow medium in size, the weight of one root crop is from 78 to 120 grams;
- The starch content is quite significant, it can vary from 12.7 to 18.4%. Because of this, potatoes tend to boil well when cooked.
The percentage of marketable potato fruits among the total harvest is, depending on weather conditions, from 83 to 96%. Such a large spread shows that with a lack of moisture and other unfavorable conditions, Ragned potatoes can form a significant number of small tubers that are not very suitable for sale.
Potatoes are well kept, keeping quality is about 97%. But, due to the high germination energy of tubers, friendly sprouts usually begin to actively appear in root crops in February-March. To prevent this from happening, the temperature in the storage facilities must be strictly kept within the range from 0 to + 2 ° C, which, of course, is not always feasible in ordinary village cellars, especially in the southern regions.
The taste of Ragneda potatoes is rated as good and excellent. The root vegetables make a wonderful mashed potato. The variety belongs to the dining room for its intended purpose.
The value of the variety lies in its rather high resistance to most of the most common diseases, primarily to late blight. Also, the Ragneda variety is well resistant to potato cancer, golden cyst nematode, wrinkled and banded mosaic and leaf roll virus.
Advantages and disadvantages
Dignity | disadvantages |
High yield | Requires low temperatures during storage, otherwise germinates quickly |
Resistant to late blight, potato cancer and many other diseases | If the rules of care are not followed and the weather conditions are poor, it may grow shallow |
Good taste and digestibility of potatoes |
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Damage resistance and good preservation |
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The variety is not capricious in the choice of soil |
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High germination energy and friendly appearance of all sprouts |
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Landing
For planting Ragneda potatoes, it is important to choose the optimal timing - at a depth of 10 cm, the soil temperature should be at least + 8 ° C. But in order not to walk around the garden with a thermometer, most experienced gardeners advise focusing on the blooming of birch leaves. The best time to plant potatoes is when the birch begins to be covered with a faint green haze of foliage. A delay in planting is also undesirable, since the soil can lose most of the moisture present in it.
Usually, a month before planting, potatoes are germinated in the light, thereby rejecting diseased and weak tubers with weak, thread-like sprouts even before planting.
Almost any place for planting the Ragneda variety is suitable, it is desirable only that tomatoes were not grown on it in previous years, since they have the same pests and diseases with potatoes.
Planting is better done more sparsely, leaving at least 15-20 cm between the tubers, and from 70 to 90 cm between the rows. In this case, the bushes will have enough space to form a significant harvest.
Care
Ragneda potatoes are relatively unpretentious to growing conditions, but still some basic grooming procedures must take place.
Hilling and feeding
Traditionally, it is believed that it is impossible to grow potatoes without hilling. Indeed, this procedure allows you to get much more significant yields, and even when using non-traditional methods of growing potatoes (such as under straw), hilling also plays an important role. In the latter case, they simply spud the bushes not with earth, but with straw.
After all, this procedure not only contributes to the formation of additional roots on potato bushes, but also preserves soil moisture, restricts growth weeds, and also enhances air exchange in the upper layers of the soil, where young tubers develop.
Potatoes are hilled at least 2 times per season:
- The first time - when the sprouts reach a height of 15-20 cm, falling asleep almost with their heads;
- The second time - some time before flowering, without waiting for the closure of the bushes.
If you use mowed grass with humus for hilling, then this will serve as additional feeding for the potato bushes.
It is optimal to combine other dressings with watering potatoes, it is especially important to do this during flowering, if there is no natural precipitation during this period.
Diseases and pests
The main problems of potatoes | Signs | How to help plants |
Late blight | Dark spots on the leaves, bushes wither | Treatment with Fitosporin, milk serum, iodine. |
Scab | Ulcers on tubers | Treatment of planting material with Fitosporin and cultivation of green manure before and after potatoes |
Colorado beetle | Many striped beetles with larvae almost completely eat the leaves | For minor lesions, sprinkle with wood ash over wet leaves. If it is strong, treat it with Confidor, Mospilan. |
Wireworm | Potato tubers are dotted with long strokes. | Plant rye or mustard on the site and do not use for 1-2 years for planting potatoes |
Viruses | Leaves shrink, brighten and curl | It is impossible to cure, the harvest from such bushes must be dug up separately and fed to the animals |
Harvesting
Ragneda potatoes are usually harvested 30-40 days after flowering, when the tops gradually turn yellow and dry out. A week or two before harvesting, it is recommended to mow the entire aboveground part - the tubers will be better stored, and it will also be more convenient to dig them out.
Conclusion
Despite its relative youth, the Ragneda potato variety has already gained many fans, since it is stable and unpretentious to grow, and at the same time tasty and fruitful.
Variety reviews
