Content
Young potatoes are one of the best summer delicacies. As known, for storage and for use in winter, late varieties of potatoes are most suitable. And in order to grow tasty, tender and mouth-watering young tubers, it is best to plant one of the early-maturing potato varieties on the site. Such potatoes will ripen within 45-50 days after planting - in June the summer resident will be able to dig in the bushes and cook tubers from his own garden. One of the popular varieties in Russia with short growing periods is the Zorachka potato. This culture is young, the potato is zoned for a temperate climate, gives consistently high yields and pleases with a pleasant taste.
Reviews, photos, and description potato varieties Zorachka are shown below. From this article you can learn about all the advantages of culture, get acquainted with its disadvantages. For novice gardeners, it will be told about the technology of growing early potatoes.
Characteristics
Potato variety Zorachka is the brainchild of Belarusian breeders. This crop was entered into the State Register in 2013 and recommended for cultivation in the Central region of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. The most suitable climate for the variety is moderate, without prolonged drought and excessive heat.
Characteristics of Zorachka potatoes:
- the ripening period of young tubers is 45 days, 70-75 days must pass from the moment of planting to full technical maturity;
- the purpose of table potatoes - Zorachka is good in the form of young tubers, suitable for cooking and preparing salads;
- compact bushes, medium height - up to 60 cm maximum;
- shoots are semi-erect, rather powerful;
- leaves of medium and large size, dark green, have a wavy edge;
- corollas are medium in size, flowers in them are collected tightly, the color of inflorescences is light blue;
- Zorachka's tubers are oval in shape, their surface is smooth;
- the peel is dark yellow;
- the pulp is light yellow;
- there are few eyes, the distance between them is large, they are small and shallow;
- Zorachka tastes good, rich, not watery;
- the starch content in potatoes is low - 12-14%;
- the average mass of marketable tubers is 90-120 grams (large potatoes);
- about 9-10 marketable potatoes develop in each bush;
- keeping quality of the Zorachka variety is estimated at 96%, which is very good for an early ripening variety (tubers can be stored until the end of January at a temperature of 8-10 degrees);
- transportability is good, due to the low percentage of starch, potatoes are rarely damaged;
- excellent commercial qualities - Zorachka is perfect for growing on an industrial scale for the sale of young tubers;
- the yield of the Belarusian potato variety is high - 35-70 tons per hectare (depending on the climate, soil composition and the amount of irrigation);
- the variety is quite resistant to external factors, but tolerates drought relatively poorly - Zorachk will have to be watered regularly;
- you can grow this potato on almost any soil, the only requirement is that the acidity of the soil must be neutral;
- the potato Zorachka has good immunity to the golden nematode and cancer, there is an average resistance to late blight of tubers and leaves, the variety is afraid only of the Y-virus.
Advantages and disadvantages
The description of the Zorachka variety demonstrates that this potato has much more positive characteristics than disadvantages. The same is indicated by the reviews of domestic gardeners and summer residents - Zorachka has proven itself well in the gardens of the country and, despite its "young age", the variety is already very popular.
Zorachka potatoes have the following advantages:
- early ripening - already on the 45th day after planting, you can dig in the first bushes;
- high yield - figures of 40-50 tons per hectare are quite enough even for farms and large industrial scales;
- the variety is unpretentious to the climate and soil composition;
- care for these potatoes requires the simplest (watering, fertilization, processing);
- Zorachka's taste, as for an early variety, is very good, rich;
- tubers tolerate transportation well, are not afraid of mechanical damage;
- if desired, Zorachka's harvest can be stored - this potato will withstand 4-5 months in the basement;
- presentation and quality of the variety are good.
Belarusian potatoes have no major drawbacks. Some farmers leave negative reviews about the Zorachka variety only because it has to be watered often and, accordingly, regularly loosen the soil in the aisles.
In practice, it turns out that it is enough to mulch the potato beds - then the moisture will evaporate less, and there is no need to loosen the soil.
Growing technology
Zorachka is an unpretentious potato variety, quite suitable for novice summer residents and inexperienced gardeners. It is recommended to plant early-ripening potatoes in early May, when the ground at a depth warms up to 7-10 degrees.
Each owner has his own tactics for germinating potato tubers. Experienced farmers recommend using this scheme:
- In the fall, prepare seed potatoes and separate them from the rest of the tubers. For this, the thickest and largest bushes are selected, undermined, the tubers are left for airing.
- Only healthy and undamaged potatoes are chosen for planting. The optimal size of planting tubers is about the size of a hen's egg.
- For several days, the tubers must be ventilated and dried, for which they are placed in a cool place in the fresh air (it is important to avoid direct sunlight on the potatoes).
- It is necessary to store the planting tubers of the Zorachka variety in the basement, but be sure to separate them from the rest of the crop.
About two weeks before planting, the planting potatoes are brought into a warm place and laid out in one layer in wooden boxes. It is advisable to sprinkle the tubers with fresh sawdust and spray the sawdust with water daily. In a humid and warm environment, Zorachka potatoes will germinate faster.
Immediately before planting, the tubers of the Zorachka variety must be treated with fungicidal preparations, since the immunity to late blight in this potato is weak.
To improve yields, experienced summer residents are advised to use ordinary wood ash. The potatoes are first sprayed with water, then sprinkled with ash and the tubers are allowed to dry completely.
Planting potatoes
It is advisable to prepare the site before planting Zorachka potatoes. By the way, potato beds should be in an open, sunny place. It is good if legumes, flax, perennial grasses, cabbage, carrots or cucumbers previously grew there.
The site must be dug up in advance, scattering humus, compost or rotted chicken droppings over the entire area.If the land on the site has high acidity, in addition to fertilizers, lime or dolomite flour is also scattered.
The planting scheme for the Zorachka variety is recommended as follows:
- 35-40 cm between bushes;
- 55-60 cm for row spacing;
- 7-10 cm - planting depth of tubers.
During planting, you can additionally fertilize the soil. Each hole needs to be added nutrient mixture, which should be prepared from the following components:
- 150-200 grams of peat;
- a tablespoon of wood ash;
- a teaspoon of superphosphate (it is better to take a double dose).
The finished mixture of all the components is combined with the ground and the resulting composition is added one handful to the planting holes.
Caring for Belarusian potatoes
It is not difficult to take care of the Zorachka variety, because this potato is unpretentious. but you need to follow some rules and take into account the peculiarities of culture:
- You need to start watering only after the green bushes sprout. The soil should be moistened regularly, but not too abundantly. Before each watering, the soil must be loosened.
- Zorachka variety must be hilled. The first hilling is performed when the bushes grow up to 20 cm. A second procedure is needed 14-16 days after the first.
- Zorachka potatoes are fertilized several times per season: after the germination of the bushes, the soil is watered with a solution of urea and complex mineral fertilizer, during the budding period potatoes need potassium and phosphorus (potassium sulfate must be mixed with wood ash), during the flowering period the bushes are watered with a solution of nitrophoska and superphosphate (important do not wet the leaves).
- If the prevention was carried out correctly, the Zorachka variety may not require treatment for infections and pests. If necessary, the bushes are sprayed with insecticides and fungicides, but this can be done only before the potato blooms.
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Conclusion
This article provides comprehensive information about the Zorachka potato, its characteristics, taste, yield, all the strengths and weaknesses of the variety are listed here. Every farmer knows that the main guarantee of successful cultivation is the right variety. So, it remains only to make a choice!
