Growing potato crop in Rabi

Edible potato Solanum tuberosum is member of family Solanaceae. Potatoes bear tubers and are propagated through underground tubers.  

Soil

Well drained sandy loam and medium loam sols, rich in humus are most suitable for potato. Acidic soils with pH range 5.0 to 6.5 are suitable and at this conditions scab disease may be minimum. Higher alkalinity in soil or saline soils are not suitable for potato cultivation.

Climate requirement for potato crop

Potato is a cool season crop and grows well in soils with sufficient moisture. Tuber growth is good if soil temperatures are between 17 °C and 19°C. Temperatures above 30°C tuber development will be slow or even stops. Cooler nights and brighter sunshine is essential for reducing the spread of diseases.

Irrigation water for Potato Crop

Irrigation is required immediately after sowing for the proper tuber germination. The frequency of irrigation may vary from place to place depending upon topography and soil types. For the growth and development of potato crop sufficient moisture need to be maintained in the soil.

The last irrigation is usually stopped fifteen days prior to harvesting to promote hardening of tuber skin before harvesting potatoes tubers.

Seed Material for Potato Cultivation

Seed potatoes with active sprouting eyes are generally used for the sowing purpose. Small sized whole tubers or large sized seed tubers cut down into multiple pieces are used as planting materials.

The tubers for planting should be well-sprouted and weigh about 50-60g in size. Seed tubers should be treated with Ridomet 1 gm/L + Plantomycin 0.5 gm/L + Humesol 3 mL/L before sowing. The treatment will avoid soil and tuber borne diseases.

In India, the following varieties are cultivated.

Sl.No.	Variety	Suitability region	Varietal Characters
1	Kufri Jyoti	o Central Plains o Southern plains o Deccan Plateau	Tolerant to late blight disease Moderate resistance to cercospora leaf spot and blotch disease
2	Kufri Jeewan	North Indian plain states	·         High yielding variety ·         Late maturing with  resistance to late blight, wart and cercospora leaf spot diseases
3	Kufri Khasi-Garo	North east Indian states	·         Short duration early maturing variety ·         Moderate resistance to late blight and  early blight and viruses ·         Can be grown in hilly areas
4	Kufri Alankar	North Indian plain states	·      High yielding early tubering variety ·      Tubers turn purple on being exposed to light.
5	Kufri Sheetman	North Indian plain states	·      Cold injury tolerant variety
6	Kufri Chandramukhi	o Central Plains o Southern plains o Deccan Plateau	·      High storability ·      White Oval tubers ·      High yielding variety
7	Kufri Sindhuri	o North Indian plain states	o  Round shaped light red-colored medium-sized tubers
8	Kufri Chamatkar	o Central Plains o Southern plains o Deccan Plateau	o  Early maturing variety o  Uniform medium sized tubers with shiny and smooth surface.

 

Land Preparation for Potato Cultivation

Soil to be made to fine tilth with 2-3 deep ploughings and levelled with harrow. Clods need to be broke if any. The beds spacing should be 60-90 cm between the beds tubers may be sowed at 45 cm apart.

 

Recommended dose of Fertilizer Application: NPK – 50:40:50 kg/ per acre

Farm yard manure / compost @ 8-10 ton/acre, 120-200 kg Annapurna, 10 kg of Ecohume granules + micronutrient mixture aries multi-micronutrient fertiliser 10 kg/acre

Combination 1	kg		Combination 2	kg		Combination 3	kg
Urea (46 % N)	74.7		10:26:26	153.8		20:20:00'	200.0
DAP (18 % N; 46 % P2O5)	87.0		Urea (46 % N)	75.3		Urea (46 % N)	21.7
MOP (60 % K2O)	83.3		MOP (60 % K2O)	16.7		MOP (60 % K2O)	83.3

 

 

Potato planting

Temperature should be less than 16 ⁰C and tubers or tuber pieces must be planted 5 to 10 cm depth.

 Weed Management in Potato crop

Weed management is most important better harvest of potato. Weeds compete with potato plants for food, water, and light. Repeated ploughings, suitable crop rotations, proper spacing, inter - cultural operations and application of weedicides or herbicides may be followed.

Metribuzin 100 gm per acre in 100 litres of water as selective herbicide, 12 -15 days after planting can be sprayed as post emergent herbicide.

 

Plant protection in Potato crop - Diseases:

 Late blight

Late blight disease is caused by Phytophthora infestans oomycete. Disease infect and destroy the leaves, stems, fruits, and tubers of potato and tomato plants also. The disease will set when foliage is at fully grown and green.

 

Symptoms of the disease

• Irregular shaped brown water-soaked lesions on young leaves under humid cold conditions
• The leaves become shrivel necrotic and die eventually with brown lesions can occur on stems and leaf pedicels
• The fungus can also infect potato tuber, tomato fruit causing circular greasy lesions. 
• The disease can be controlled chemically and also using bio control agents. Bio control agents need to be precautionary.

Management of the disease: Sprays

• Phytoalexin 4 mL/L + Blitox 2 gm/L OR

• Ridomet5 gm/L + Kavach 1.5 gm/L

• Organic Biocontrol:
• Treat 10 gm/L + Econeem plus 1 mL/L

 

2. Early Blight

Early blight disease is a fungal infection caused by Alternaria solani .

 

Symptoms of the early blight

Disease is severe when moisture is and temperature in atmosphere is more.

• Infected leaves will possess the concentric circular black spots. Infections on fruits the disease is prominent on petioles and protruding in to the fruits at proximal end from petioles. High intensive disease will make plants defoliate.

 Management of the disease:

Spraying of broad spectrum systemic fungicides will control the disease.

Ridomet @ 0.5 gm/L OR Ridomil gold @ 2 gm/L OR Custodia @ 1.0 mL/L  

    

3. Black Scurf:

Black surf disease is caused by Rhizoctonia solani fungus.

Symptoms of the Disease

• Dark brown to black hard mass like structures on the potato tubers called sclerotia.
• Stem canker is the other important symptom of Rhizoctonia Scurf disease.

Management of the disease:

Seed treatment above mentioned may prevent the disease and following chemicals can be drenched to control the disease.

Brown Rot:

Bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum causes brown rot disease.

Symptoms of the Disease

• Wilting of the leaves at the ends of the branches during hot days and less at nights
• Brown discolouration of the stem with an inch or more sized streaks above the soil line where leaves have a bronze tint.
• On infected tubers bacterial ooze often emerges from the eyes and stem end where these infected tubers are attached.

Management of the disease:

Seed treatment above mentioned may prevent the disease and following chemicals can be drenched to control the disease.

Drenching if possible may be done with below combination to manage the infection of Black Scurf and Brown rot diseases of Potato.

Borogold 3 gm/L + Plantomycin 0.5 gm/L and 100 -150 mL per plant where ever infection is found.

5. Viral Infections:

Mosaic virus and Leaf roll viral diseases are two common viral infections usually appears on potato. Mosaic viral infections shows the green and yellow mosaic stripes on plants and growth of the plant is stunted.

In case of leaf roll viral disease the leaves roll towards midrib and leaves will be leathery.

Management of Viral diseases in Potato

Since viral infections are spread by sucking pests like Thrips and whiteflies the sucking pests need to be managed.

Ammoniacal nitrogen has also positive advantage for viral infections so take care of ammoniacal nitrogen application.

Following sprays may be done to manage

First  spray: Viral out 2 gm/L+ Magnum Mn 0.5 gm/l + Phytozyme 1 mL/L+ Econeem plus 1 %- 1 mL/L

after 10 days: V-Bind 2 mL/L + Multimax 3 gm/L + Econeem plus 1 % - 1 mL/L

Plant protection in Potato crop - Insect pests

1. Cutworms [Spodoptera litura]

• Caterpillar worms cut the plants above the soil surface
• Worms also eat tubers
• Cutworms are nocturnal remain hidden during day and actively feed on crops during nights

Flooding the field is an effective way of controlling the caterpillars.

Spray with

Coragen 0.33 mL/L + Neemark 1 % -1 mL/L OR

Rilon 0.5 gm/L + Neemark 1 % -1 mL/L

 

Bait mixture may be evenly broadcasted evenly all over the potato plot to attract and kill cut worms during night as they are nocturnal.

The process of baiting can be a mixture of 3 components,

1. Poison (Insecticide): 2. Carrier or base (Rice bran), and Attractant (Jaggery) at ratio of 1:10:1. Mix all the items with given ratio to prepare the bait mixture.

The poison may a stomach poison insecticide can be used like Malathion or Phoskill.

2. Aphids and leaf hoppers                                                                      Sucks the sap from the leaves, stems and tender shoots making them pale.These sucking pests secrete honey dew on the leaves slowly black molds of honey eating fungus is developed on infested plant parts. These molds reduces the process of photosynthesis

Management of Aphids and Leaf hoppers

• Econeem plus 1 % @ 1 ml/litre + Prime gold  @ 0.5 g/litre OR  

• Econeem plus 1 % @ 1 ml/litre  + Asataf  @2 gm/litre

 

3. White Grub:

• White grubs are creamish white and feed on the young developing roots making plants to dry up.
• Tubers develop holes when infested by white grubs.

4. Potato Tuber Moth:

• Caterpillars of potato tuber moth drills and mines into leaves and later leaves develop patches.
• Tunnel -like holes are made in to the tubers and filled with the excreta of the pest. Adult moth is yellowish with orange colored eyes.

Spray suggested for aphids and leaf hoppers will control the caterpillars of Potato tuber moth.

Management of White grub and Potato Tuber moth

• Healthy potatoes must be stored while infested ones must be immediately discarded since the pest causes damage at the storage level.

Application of Caldan [Cartap Hydrochloride] 4 % G 5- 10 kg per acre or Ferterra may kill white grubs and larva of Potato tuber moth.

 

 

Harvesting and Storage

Harvesting is done once when the plant become dry after starting to dry from apical growth tip. Once all the leaves are dried and there is no photosynthesis in the crop, is ready to harvest.

Manually or potato digger are used to harvest the potatoes without any wounds to potatoes. If the price is good they can be sold out and if to wait for good price, potato may be shared at shade with cooler ventilated conditions.

 

K SANJEEVA REDDY,

Senior Agronomist, BigHaat.

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