Content
Methods and methods of planting potatoes in recent years are constantly being improved. No one is interested in growing potatoes just like that, for food, as they were grown decades ago. It's much easier to buy it. This is a very labor-intensive event, and at the same time, the harvests are scanty, and even what grows is poorly stored or deteriorates from disease. More and more gardeners are trying to use new technologies when growing this most beloved culture among the people. The changes are either in the direction of reducing the applied effort when growing potatoes, or increasing the yield of this vegetable. Planting potatoes using Dutch technology allows you to collect about 30-40 tons of potatoes from one hectare of land. That in terms of one hundred square meters is about 300-400 kg. Of course, these numbers cannot fail to impress. And many are trying to figure out and understand what are the advantages of the Dutch method and what it actually is.
Seed material
The first and main advantage of growing potatoes in the Dutch way is the excellent quality of the planting material.
Firstly, only varietal potatoes are used for sowing, and not re-grading, which is often planted in Russian dacha farms. Varietal purity must be at least 100%.
Secondly, the reproduction of tubers for planting should be at least the second, most often the elite and superelite are used. At the same time, germination and germination should also be kept at the level of 100%.
Thirdly, tubers are necessarily planted in a germinated state. Their size is strictly aligned and is 50-60 mm. In this case, the seedlings should be from 2 to 5 mm long, in this case, when using automated planting, they do not break off.
Aphids are the main carrier of viruses, therefore, as a result, the crop is completely protected from viral exposure.
The most popular Dutch varieties
Currently, along with the use of technology, some varieties of potatoes from Holland are popular in Russia. They are distinguished, first of all, by high yields, so you should take a closer look at them.
- Agria - an ideal variety for growing in the middle lane. In addition to high yield (about 500 c / ha) and large tubers, it is distinguished by its responsiveness to watering and dislike of high temperatures.
- Condor - one of the most widespread at the moment industrial Dutch varieties, since it allows you to get up to 500 kg / ha with good resistance to droughts and various diseases.
- Eba - in addition to decent yield indicators (300-400 c / ha), it also has a wonderful taste, as well as resistance to pests and drought. The variety is resistant to mechanical damage and well transported.
- Romano - an early variety of potatoes, the ripening period is only 90-110 days. Without special care, using only regular watering, you can collect up to 400 c / ha.
- Ariel - this variety is not used for industrial cultivation, apparently due to the low (200-300 tzha) yield. But it will grow even without watering in the middle lane, and will delight you with taste and aroma.
An interesting fact is that after numerous variety trials, about 30 varieties of Dutch potatoes were registered in Russia for cultivation.But despite the use of these productive Dutch varieties, the yield has not increased much with their industrial use. After all, our Russian potato varieties also have a very good yield potential. This suggests that it is not only a matter of using unique and quality varieties. There are other subtleties thanks to which the Dutch get their exorbitant harvests.
Land cultivation
For the Dutch technology of growing potatoes, repeated machine cultivation of the land is required with the introduction of large doses of fertilizers and strict adherence to all technologies. What can you take from all this for a regular infield?
Potatoes are grown in the field with a mandatory crop rotation.
Potatoes return to their original place only after 3-4 years. This helps, first of all, to cleanse the soil from a variety of bacterial and fungal diseases.
In autumn, the land must be cultivated with the introduction of organic fertilizers, as well as superphosphate (4-5 kg per one hundred square meters) and potassium salt (1.5-2.5 kg per one hundred square meters of land).
In the spring, the earth is milled and urea is added at the rate of 5 kg per one hundred square meters. The most important thing in spring tillage is to loosen the soil well.
Planting potatoes in Dutch
The Dutch method of planting potatoes is not some kind of super discovery. Much of what they do has been used here as well. It's just that the Dutch have combined many rather elementary nuances into one clear technological scheme, and combined them with a fully automated planting technology. The result is purely Dutch technology. What is its essence?
First, the creation of wide row spacings when planting potatoes. Two schemes are used:
- Potatoes are planted with a ribbon of two rows (in fact, our ribbon planting method), between which a symbolic distance in 25-30 cm. But between the belts the width of the passage is equal to 120 cm. This large aisle allows you to easily use large-sized equipment both for planting and for all other automated procedures for caring for potatoes. Another advantage of this planting is the ability to lay the drip hose between rows, which allows you to irrigate double areas at the same time and increases irrigation efficiency by at least 40%. In addition, all potato bushes receive the maximum amount of light and air, as they grow, as it were, extreme.
- Potatoes are planted in rows, between which a distance of 70 cm is left. This is also quite a rather large distance that allows machine technology for planting and processing potato bushes. Watch the video how potatoes are planted using Dutch technology in the Netherlands itself.
With both planting schemes, the most important thing is that the tubers are planted in specially formed ridges, trapezoidal with a clearly defined width and height. The width of the ridge at the base is 35 cm, and its height eventually reaches 25 cm. The ridges look as if the top of the ridge has been cut off, respectively, the width in the high part of the ridge is 15-17 cm.The tubers are planted almost on the surface of the soil, and the ridges are formed already around the planted tubers. The distance between the tubers is about 30 cm.
This method of planting is quite applicable on personal plots, dividing it into two periods.
- At first, low ridges are made in compliance with all the listed sizes, but with a height of about 8-10 cm. Potatoes are planted in them to a depth of 6-8 cm.
- Two weeks after planting, even before the first shoots have time to appear, the ridges increase in height up to 25 cm with the simultaneous removal of all that have crawled out during this time weeds.
According to their technology, the Dutch do not further use mechanical formation of ridges (additional hilling) - they use herbicides to remove weeds in the aisles.
The most important advantage of such a bed planting of potatoes is that the potatoes are in a well-heated and ventilated loose soil, their oxygen supply increases by 70%. Since potatoes are very fond of loose soils, under such conditions, the root system of the bushes is formed very powerful and strong, which cannot but affect the yield. Moreover, with such plantings, potato bushes more easily resist pests and the spread of diseases.
The video below shows how the Dutch potato growing technology is applied in practice in Russia.
Potato care
In addition to drip irrigation and the obligatory treatment of row spacings with herbicides against the growth of weeds, the Dutch technology also provides for the obligatory 5-6-fold treatment with chemical preparations against late blight. Moreover, the first spraying begins long before the manifestation of any signs of the disease for purely preventive purposes. Therefore, all the hopes of Russian farmers for the resistance of Dutch potato varieties to late blight did not come true. Since this resistance was achieved not on the basis of immunity, but as a result of a large number of chemical treatments.
Periodic treatments from the Colorado potato beetle are mandatory.
Throughout its development, potatoes are also sprayed with numerous chemicals against aphids, as the main carrier of viral infections.
In Russia, the method of removing diseased plants from fields is used to combat viral infections.
Harvest
Another technique for which Dutch technology is famous is the obligatory removal of the aboveground part of the plants from potato bushes 10-14 days before harvest. This technique allows the tubers themselves to ripen well and form a strong peel that will help the potatoes to be stored for a long time and not be so susceptible to various mechanical damage.
The potato itself is harvested early enough to protect it from outbreaks of late blight and other diseases. Ware potatoes are harvested no later than late August - early September. And the timing of harvesting seed potatoes, in general, is very early - late July - early August.
As you can see, apart from automated machine processing, planting and harvesting, as well as strict adherence to all technological processes of cultivation, there is nothing super new in Dutch technology. And the yield of potatoes is achieved in no small measure due to the excessive use of chemicals. Therefore, it is necessary to use the most interesting and useful moments from it and enjoy the magnificent harvests.
