Description of the potato variety Uladar
Potatoes of the Uladar variety are distinguished by their friendly shoots. The plant intensively grows green mass and quickly reaches a height of 60-65 cm. The bush belongs to the intermediate type, has a semi-erect trunk with graceful thin stems. The leaf blade is medium in size, colored green, with a slight waviness along the edge. Few flowers are formed, they are of medium size for potatoes, usually colored lilac or red-violet. A small amount of fruit is also set.
A description of the Uladar potato variety would be incomplete without detailed information about the tubers. On average, one Uladar bush produces 8-12 large root crops weighing 90-140 g, some specimens can weigh up to 180 g.
The shape of the tubers is oval-round, the color of the peel varies from light yellow to bright yellow. The surface of the root crop is smooth, without grooves or roughness. The eyes are very small and located on the surface. The pulp has a dense structure, creamy yellow. The light eyes are red-violet in color and have slight pubescence below.
The tubers are distinguished by excellent keeping quality (up to 94%), good transportability, resistance to mechanical damage, and high marketability and taste. Thanks to these characteristics, Uladar potatoes are considered one of the best table varieties of Belarusian potatoes.
Comment! The word “uladar” is translated from the Belarusian language as “lord”; the variety got its name after the authors watched the film “The Lord of the Rings”.
Features of culture
Uladar potatoes (the description of the variety and photos of the harvest are primarily of interest to those gardeners and farmers who first decided to grow this crop on their plot or field) belongs to the early-ripening table varieties. Full ripening of tubers occurs 50-65 days after planting.
The maximum weight of 1 potato is 180 g, the starch concentration reaches 18%. With proper care and regular moistening of the soil, up to 14 medium-sized tubers ripen under 1 bush.
Characteristics of potato variety Uladar.
Potatoes have excellent taste characteristics, which is why they are used for preparing not only homemade, but also gourmet restaurant dishes. The keeping quality of timely harvested crops is 95%. At the same time, the potato peel is creamy-yellow in color, the surface is smooth, without any irregularities.
The tubers are oval in shape, but sometimes there are slightly elongated tubers. Uladar potatoes have a large number of positive characteristics, but there are practically no negative qualities.
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The garden plant Uladar is characterized by the formation of small bushes, the height of which is within 60 cm. The leaves are bright green and medium in size. A few purple flowers form on the bush, which produce a minimal amount of berries.
Uladar potatoes are characterized by high yields, which can vary from 120 to 350 kg/1 ha (it all depends on the region and irrigation). Numerous reviews from farmers indicate that with proper cultivation of this early-ripening garden plant, you can harvest up to 430 kg of tubers from 1 hectare.
Uladar potatoes grow best in the Northwestern and Central regions of the Russian Federation. With regular watering, the crop grows well in the south of the country.
A huge advantage of the Uladar variety is that it perfectly resists many diseases to which plants from the Solanaceae family are susceptible. Tubers have a high resistance to scab, nematode, rhizoctonia, as well as other common viruses.
But at the same time, the leaves of the plant can be affected by late blight, and this variety does not have natural protection against the Colorado potato beetle.
Pros and cons of Uladar potato variety
The Uladar variety of potatoes has many advantages; the characteristics and reviews of agronomists point, first of all, to the following:
- high yield (up to 424 c/ha);
- early ripening (70-75 days);
- excellent presentation (90-95% of the total harvest);
- good keeping quality and transportability;
- resistance to mechanical stress;
- increased immunity to a number of nightshade diseases;
- the ability to cultivate on any type of soil;
- high tasting indicators;
- versatility of use.
Professional potato growers consider the disadvantage of Uladar potatoes to be the need for watering during the dry season, regular application of fertilizers and mandatory treatments with strong insecticides against the Colorado potato beetle.
Advantages and disadvantages
Pros:
- early ripening (full ripening requires no more than 55 days);
- friendly early harvest;
- high rate of resistance to a complex of diseases;
- wonderful taste properties;
- long-term storage;
- good internal texture;
- uniformity and evenness of the harvest;
- marketability and transportability;
- tolerance to low temperatures;
- various culinary uses;
- significant yield.
Minuses:
- For increased yields, plants need to be fed and watered correctly;
- there is a risk of pest damage (Colorado beetle, mole cricket, potato fly).
Planting and caring for Uladar potatoes
The Uladar variety is not particularly demanding in care, which is why it is loved by many owners of large agricultural farms. However, knowing the nuances of its agricultural technology, you can significantly increase productivity.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
Potatoes of the Uladar variety can be successfully grown on any soil, however, they will reveal their full potential on light and medium soil in terms of particle size distribution. It is best if it is sandy loam soil, black soil and peat. It is not recommended to plant potatoes in lowlands and places where water stagnates.
In autumn, the area under the potato field is dug up, the layer is turned to a depth of 25-28 cm, and organic fertilizers are applied. In the spring, compost or manure is added to the soil; if this was not done in the fall, the soil is loosened to a depth of 12-15 cm, enriching it with oxygen. Immediately before planting, the area is dug up using a shovel and leveled with a rake.
Attention! The best predecessors of potatoes are considered to be grain crops, forage grasses, flax, lupine, and legumes.
Preparation of planting material
A month before planting, seed potatoes are sorted, rejecting tubers with mechanical damage, rot and similar defects. Selected root crops are placed in boxes in 2-3 layers for vernalization. The container with potatoes is placed in a warm and well-lit place with a temperature of 14-15°C. Soon light shoots will begin to appear on the tubers.
Immediately before planting in the ground, you can treat seed potatoes with insecticides against the Colorado potato beetle (Prestige, Commander), as well as growth stimulants.
Landing rules
Early Uladar potatoes begin to be planted in May, when the soil temperature is more than 7-10 ° C at a depth of 10 cm. Tubers are placed in holes 8-10 cm with sprouts up, in the case of heavy clay soils - 6-7 cm. Distance between rows – 60 cm, between neighboring bushes – 35 cm.
Watering and fertilizing
Uladar tolerates short-term drought, but if it is prolonged, it needs watering. Moist soil is especially important in the period before flowering, when tubers are being laid. Uladara plantings must be watered to a depth of at least 20-30 cm so that the moisture reaches the deepest roots. One watering every 2-2.5 weeks throughout the growing season is enough.
Uladar potatoes are characterized by increased tuberization in the first half of the growing season. Regular application of mineral fertilizers at this time will help the potato bush to form a larger number of tubers and qualitatively increase their mass.
Attention! Potatoes are watered in furrows so as not to wash away the soil around the tubers.
Loosening and weeding
After planting, Uladar potatoes especially need oxygen. Knowing this feature, you need to carefully plow the soil between the rows as soon as the first shoots appear. During the season, you should regularly weed the plantings and loosen the soil.
Hilling
The first time the potatoes are hilled up when the height of the bush is 5-8 cm. Wet soil is raked from the rows to the bushes, first on one side and then on the opposite side. It is not recommended to hill up in the heat or in the sun, since warm, poured soil negatively affects the stems and their development. It is best to hill up after rain, early in the morning or late in the evening.
The second time hilling is carried out when the potatoes reach a height of 15-20 cm, before flowering. The height of the hill should be at least 15-18 cm. The third hilling is carried out when the plant height is 25-30 cm, the height of the embankment is 17-20 cm.
Comment! Without hilling, Uladar's yield will decrease by 20-25%.
Care
Speaking of care, everything is standard here. Potatoes love watering, fertilizing, hilling and protection from diseases and parasites.
Speaking of watering, experienced gardeners recommend watering potatoes no more than three times during certain periods of the growing season. The first time is when the sprouts appear, when they come out 5-6 cm. The second time is when the potatoes enter the flowering phase and the third time when they come out of it. It is not recommended to water the crop after flowering, as there is a high risk of contracting late blight.
Potatoes are also responsive to fertilizing. Especially if they were carried out in the autumn. After harvesting, the area is dug up and fertilized with manure or compost. In general, Uladar does not need to be fed any more. Autumn fertilizers will be sufficient.
Hilling is carried out as the tops grow. During the season you need to hill the crop twice. The first time, when the tops reached 15-25 cm, the second, 2-3 weeks after the first hilling. During hilling, it is necessary not only to hill up the potatoes with soil, but also to clear the area of weeds that inhibit the development of tubers.
Naturally, if a crop encounters the Colorado potato beetle, it is necessary to treat it with special insecticides. With diseases, everything is the same, only fungicides are used.
Diseases and pests
According to the description of the Federal State Budgetary Institution State Varietal Commission, the Uladar variety of potatoes is resistant to the following diseases and pests:
- potato cancer;
- golden potato cyst nematode;
- wrinkled and striped mosaic.
According to the originator of the variety, resistance to late blight of tubers and tops is average, as is resistance to leaf curl virus.
Uladar potatoes can be affected by rhizoctonia (black scab), as a result of which up to 1/3 of the seedlings can be lost. To prevent the disease, it is recommended to treat tubers with Maxim or another contact fungicide before planting.
Of all the possible pests of Uladar potatoes, the Colorado potato beetle comes first. In the middle of the ripening period, the number of larvae and adults on the tops increases sharply, and if insecticides are not used in time, you can lose the harvest.
Comment! The Colorado potato beetle (lat. Leptinotarsa decemlineata) received its popular name in 1859, when it devastated potato plantations in the US state of Colorado.
History of variety development
The birthplace of the Uladar potato is Belarus. This is a relatively young variety, it was bred by breeders Makhanko V., Piskun G., Vologdina L. and Kolyadka I. in the Belarusian Republican Unitary Enterprise “Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Fruit and Vegetable Sciences”. Potatoes were developed by crossing the Zhivitsa and Kolya varieties with each other. In 2008, having passed all the tests, the variety was included in the State Register of Belarus and was allowed for mass distribution. It was recommended for cultivation in Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Minsk and other regions. In 2011, Uladar was included in the Russian state register. On a 10-point scale of taste properties in Russia it was assigned a solid 7. Today it is grown not only in Russia and Belarus, but also in all CIS countries.
Potato tubers Uladar
Harvesting and storage
Uladar potatoes can be harvested mechanically using a tractor. Even with this method, the safety of tubers remains at the level of 90-95%.
The time to dig up potatoes is when the tops have already withered and the stems still retain their green color. Tubers collected at this time are best suited for further use and storage. The root crops have not yet begun to wither from a lack of nutrients due to the drying out of the above-ground part, and the skin has not turned green if exposed to the sun.
The dug up potatoes are cleared of soil and allowed to dry. After this, the tubers are sorted, discarding rotten or damaged fruits. Storage conditions for the Uladar variety are no different from those for other species. Need a dry, dark and cool place. The ideal temperature is 3-5°C.
Growing
Before planting, potatoes are first germinated. To do this, first the prepared tubers are washed with water. Then they are left in a dry, dark place at a temperature of 13–16 °C. After 2–2.5 weeks, as soon as sprouts appear, start planting.
Potatoes are planted in soil pre-fertilized with compost, the temperature of which is approximately 11 °C.
The main rule for a good harvest: this variety of potato needs regular and frequent fertilization with minerals. Following this rule leads to an increase in the number of fruits in each bush.
The planting process involves digging holes of the correct depth within 5–9 centimeters. The minimum distance between them is 30–35 centimeters. If the ground is too dry, the holes deepen by 8–10 centimeters. Previously prepared and germinated tubers are planted with their sprouts facing up, then sprinkled with soil fertilized with compost.
Characteristic
The fruits of the Uladar potato are of interest to agricultural technicians, summer residents and consumers. One plant, with properly organized care, produces up to 12-14 potatoes. Uladar, which is considered a table variety, is considered exemplary in all respects:
- Potatoes have a classic, round-oval shape.
- The peel is the usual yellow color.
- The eyes are small, not deep, located superficially.
- Potato flesh is also yellow. During the heat treatment it practically does not change.
- The weight varies, usually ranging from 80-140 g. The average is 100 g. Individual fruits reach a gigantic weight for potatoes - 180-200 g.
- Keeping quality is high, 94% of products retain their presentation until spring.
- Suitable for long-distance transportation, resistant to mechanical damage.
Reviews
“We have been looking at Uladar potatoes for two seasons. We observed a neighbor who used different planting methods. This variety can take root in any of them. The potatoes are delicious, we store them in the cellar, go through them infrequently, and use them until early spring. We recommend for planting, we give pluses,” - Nikolay and Tatyana Sokolov, Torzhok
“I consider Uladar potatoes one of the best on the market. True, the puree made from it is not attractive, gray in color, and not so tasty. We fry it and put it in soup. Tubers are in marketable condition and are stored until spring,” Ivan Chistov, Myshkin.
