Potato yield from 1 hectare: how to grow and increase the quantity in your home garden

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What does productivity depend on?

When harvesting, every summer resident dreams of increasing his productivity and getting a lot of potatoes. But growing vegetables without much effort is not so easy.

The yield indicator is influenced by the following factors:

Climatic conditions of the region where the gardener lives.
Soil quality indicator: potatoes grow well on sandy soils, but poorly on clay soils.
A variety of crop that is grown in the home garden.
The ability of potatoes to “resist” pests and diseases.

Caring for a crop involves fertilizing, watering, and providing the plant with proper conditions.

They are fed with organic or mineral fertilizers, which can significantly influence the yield. If the plant is not resistant to frost, you will have to provide it with shelter so that the potatoes do not die.

The following recommendations will help increase productivity:

You should not plant vegetables in one place for more than 3 years, this depletes the land and directly affects the quantitative and qualitative indicators of yield;
applying fertilizers: compost, manure, bird droppings - all this will improve the soil characteristics and allow you to harvest a good harvest;
green manure or “predecessors” - help restore the soil, they are planted in the ground, then the resulting material is mowed and dug up, green manure allows the soil to rest, and also attracts earthworms;
Planting materials also influence the quantitative indicator of crop yield. For this reason, it is recommended to select potatoes carefully.

To harvest a good potato harvest, you will have to try. This vegetable seems “unpretentious” only at first glance. But if you do not provide it with care, then you should not expect a good harvest.

What does it depend on?

What factors influence potato yield?

Planting material

For any crop, the quality and quantity of the harvest depends on the seeds, and in the case of potatoes, on the tubers. When planting potatoes, the following points regarding seed material must be taken into account:

Variety Breeders have already developed about 8 thousand varieties of potatoes. Many of them are capable of producing very high yields.
Seed quality. In cases where part of the harvest is used for sowing, sooner or later the potatoes degenerate and the yield falls. For record yields, tubers of no more than the third reproduction should be used.

Compliance with crop rotation rules

Getting a good harvest is unthinkable without observing crop rotation. When growing “potatoes by potatoes”, in just 3-4 years the soil will be depleted and yields will drop to a minimum.

For industrial cultivation, the following crop rotation scheme is usually used:

Steam.
Winter rye.
Potato.
Wheat.
Green mass (oats plus vetch) for two harvests.
Oats for grain.

In the simplest case, it is necessary to interrupt the potato planting cycles with green manure: hairy vetch, white mustard, winter rye, oilseed radish, etc.

When growing on a personal plot, it is important to ensure that the predecessors of potatoes are:

cabbage;
cucumbers;
pumpkin and other melons;
onion or garlic;
legumes (peas, beans, etc.);
celery;
spinach.

Acceptable crops:

beet;
carrot;
coriander and other spicy herbs;
radish;
turnip.

Inadmissible predecessors are potatoes themselves and their relatives (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants), as well as strawberries.

Proper care

High potato yields are achieved with proper care. It includes the following measures:

Regular weeding.
Hilling up at least 2-3 times per season.
Water at least once a week, except during rainy periods.
Pest control and treatment of seedlings with chemicals.
Top dressing (both pre-winter and spring), as well as summer feeding during the period of tuber growth.

Soil quality

Potatoes love loose, well-aerated soil . It is unlikely that high yields will be achieved on heavy clay and loamy soils. The situation can be corrected by using fine river sand to structure the soil, as well as growing green manure as predecessors. But these are half measures.

It is also important to monitor the acidity of the soil for good yield. Potatoes prefer neutral soils. If the area is acidified, liming should be done before planting.

Important! Soil acidity is increased by decomposing wood debris, so sawdust should not be used for mulching.

Finally, like any crop, potatoes are responsive to enriching the soil with nutrients. Therefore, for a good harvest, pre-winter application of organic matter (manure, low peat, humus, compost) and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers should be used.

Potato planting rate per 1 hectare

The indicator largely depends on the size of the tubers; you will have to calculate it yourself, but you will not have to carry out complex mathematical calculations.

Let's try to determine the average:

On average, 2-2.5 tons are planted per hectare.
Choose potatoes with an average tuber diameter of 45-60 millimeters.
If the tubers are smaller in diameter, 25-28 millimeters, then 1.5 tons of planting material will be required per hectare.
When potatoes are planted by hand, the distance between rows should be from 25 to 40 centimeters, and between rows - up to 90 centimeters.

But since it is extremely difficult to plant an entire hectare of potatoes, they often resort to modern technology, which independently calculates the distance between the rows.

Potato consumption when planting per 1 ha

As an example, we will calculate the rate of sowing potatoes per 1 hectare of land or per hundred square meters:

rectangular section size: 12.5 m long and 8 m wide, beds are located in the direction from south to north, the section contains 10 rows; distance between rows - 80 cm;
the length of each layer is 125 m, the distance between the tubers is 10 cm from each other, each tuber must weigh on average 200-300 g and contain at least 5 eyes;
row length (125 cm) multiplied by 10 rows of rows will result in 1250 pieces. It is necessary to divide by 5, as a result we get 250 tubers.

Conclusion: for one hundred square meters of land, the norm is 250 tubers. Calculation of norms for sowing potatoes over large areas is carried out in a similar way. To calculate the planned harvest, the number of seed tubers planted on an area of 1 hectare is multiplied by the average weight of potatoes.

Example: The average weight of a tuber for planting is about 60 g or 0.06 kg. 65,000 tubers are sown per hectare. The planned income from 1 hectare will be: 65,000 x 0.06 = 3.9 tons per hectare.

Required number of seeds

Healthy medium-sized tubers are used as planting material. Large and small potatoes are removed. If this is not possible, then the summer resident should remove the tubers that are too small, and cut the large ones into 2 or 3 parts.

What do potatoes like?

Potatoes love light. With its deficiency, the stems will stretch and turn pale, the plant will develop poorly and produce few tubers. Naturally, in such conditions you will not get a good harvest.

The plant feels best at a temperature of 18-21 degrees during flowering and 16-18 degrees during tuber formation. If the temperature is higher, the flowers and buds fall off, the development of tubers slows down, which significantly reduces the yield. At temperatures below zero, the plant dies.

In order for potatoes to develop normally, it is necessary to evenly moisten the soil: the plant does not tolerate either drought or excess moisture.

The potato root system requires a lot of oxygen. Therefore, to get a good result, potatoes must be planted in loose, fertile and structured soil.

Potato yield per 1 sq.m.

The so-called “exit” from one hundred square meters depends on the circumstances, let’s discuss them:

if the soil at your summer cottage is of poor quality, then do not expect a big harvest;
the culture does not tolerate temperature fluctuations; cold, drought and heat can destroy the harvest.

To get a lot of potatoes by planting them in a small area, you will have to pay special attention to the planting material. Gardeners recommend planting only potatoes that are similar in size to a chicken egg.

When it comes to the yield of a crop, it varies; in our country, it is unlikely that one hundred square meters will yield more than 100 kilograms.

Profitability of the potato business

If you invest 80,000 rubles in production, you can get a potato yield from 1 hectare of 20 tons. At the same time, only 7-8 tons of wheat can be harvested from the same area, which will provide approximately 60-65 thousand rubles. arrived. If new technologies are used, the potato yield per 1 hectare can reach 80 t/ha, and the income, accordingly, can reach 800 thousand rubles!

Experts have calculated what is needed to grow 100-240% profitable potatoes. A business plan for its production must take into account a field area of at least 250 hectares, and financial investments - at the level of $7 million, and also working capital in the amount of $0.5-1 million. Over the past year, the profitability of this business in Russia was 40-60 %.

According to the same experts, a potato growing project pays off on average in 5-7 years, and intermediate results are not always indicative. Throughout the entire period of activity, systematic and serious investments are required. For example, the cost of a combine is about 300 thousand euros, a planter costs 80 thousand euros, etc. Soviet technology is already outdated and can lead to crop damage.

But all this concerns industrial production. For individual farms, there are schemes with a low level of investment, but also with lower profitability.

Amount of potato harvest per 1 ha in different regions of Russia

It is difficult to predict what summer will be like in 2022, but in addition to weather conditions, each region has its own climate characteristics that should be taken into account when planting:

The highest yield in the country is in the Bryansk region. This region is considered a “champion” in terms of productivity. From one hectare of planting it is possible to collect up to 230 centners in a good year.
The central regions of the country should not be written off either; Thus, in the Tula region, a good harvest has been harvested for many years. The record is considered to be 2016, when it was possible to collect 250 centners of potatoes per hectare.
On a personal plot, if it is located in the Sverdlovsk, Moscow, Leningrad regions, a good harvest traditionally grows. From a hectare of planting in these regions it is possible to collect up to 200 centners.
The top ten also includes Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, and the Tyumen region. These regions of the country have conditions suitable for potato cultivation, as evidenced by consistently high yields.

Comparative analysis of potato yields in Russia and in the world

At the beginning of the 21st century, Russia ranked second in terms of potato production, the first belonged to China. But in the 10s, Russia was displaced from second place by India. For example, in 2016, 96 million tons of potatoes were harvested in China, 46 in India, and 34 in Russia.

There is nothing wrong with Russia lagging behind, since the bulk of the harvest of this crop goes to satisfy the needs of its own population. In the same year, 20 million tons of potatoes were harvested in the USA, 12 in Germany, and 7 in Holland. Other indicators are much more important: potato yield per 1 c/ha and the average annual level of product sales.

Comparison of potato yields in different countries

World champion in potato yield - New Zealand.

The combination of modern technologies with an almost ideal climate works wonders: the average yield is 502 centners per hectare, and some farmers harvest 700 centners.

Natural disasters make adjustments to the rosy picture. In 2017, when New Zealand experienced 2 consecutive floods and snow in the middle of the local summer (in January), yields decreased by 20–30%.

In Russia, most of whose territory is located in the zone of risky agriculture, such records cannot be achieved. Therefore, it is much more interesting to analyze the indicators of European countries that are closer in climate.

The European champion is the Netherlands, where the yield is 447 c/ha. No wonder: Dutch agronomists are trendsetters in the field of creating new potato varieties and developing advanced technologies for growing them.

Not too far behind the Netherlands are Belgium (423 c/ha), Germany (423 c/ha), France (432 c/ha) and England (405 c/ha). The yield is 1.5–2 times lower in Italy (255 c/ha) and Spain (281 c/ha), which is associated with hot, dry summers.

Paradox: the countries that grow the most potatoes have serious problems with yields. This figure for China is 144 c/ha, for India – 164 c/ha, for Russia – 165 c/ha. Of course, Russia is ahead of Romania in terms of yield (134 c/ha), but I would like to focus on the best examples.

Chinese agricultural enterprises are “famous” for their barbaric attitude towards soil and the uncontrolled use of mineral fertilizers. So China, without a doubt, will soon increase potato yields, but the agriculture of this country cannot be an example to follow.

India is a completely different matter. Here, per capita potato consumption per year is approximately 12 kg. Local farmers have adapted to growing potatoes mainly in winter, when the heat subsides. Indian early potatoes are exported all over the world. The same conditions apply to Pakistan, from where early potatoes are often imported to Russia in March–April.

Growing technology

To collect not only the first, but also the second harvest of the crop, you will have to follow the recommendations:

Regular watering procedures will help to grow potatoes correctly. The crop is actively watered during the growing season, when tubers are formed, then the number of procedures is reduced.
Vegetables are planted in a sunny place; they grow poorly in the shade of trees. Gardeners prefer flat surfaces that are well lit by the sun.
To harvest two crops in a season, you will have to feed the plant; humus and cow manure are used as fertilizers. Potatoes are fed when planting, the procedures are repeated after 10 days, then fertilizers are used when the crop begins to bloom.
You will have to treat the planting and eliminate pests; for this purpose, various solutions (insecticides) are used.

Advice: potatoes are cultivated on an industrial scale using modern technologies. It is not advisable to use manual labor when you have to cultivate a hectare of planting.

If a summer resident lives in Siberia, then he will only be able to harvest several potato crops if he cultivates them in greenhouse conditions. Preference is given to early and mid-ripening varieties.

How to organize a potato business

The demand for potatoes among Russians is high and remains almost unchanged throughout the year. This is a popular, easy to prepare, inexpensive and quite healthy product. Many recipes with it completely eliminate monotony in nutrition. Even unfavorable economic conditions do not affect potato sales. On the contrary, in times of crisis and rising prices, many are discovering all the advantages of potatoes by purchasing them in kilograms.

These factors characterize growing potatoes for sale as an extremely promising endeavor that promises the farmer stable high incomes. In reality this is not entirely true. The competition in this area is simply enormous. A small enterprise will have to compete with huge agricultural complexes not only in Russia, but also in Belarus. Therefore, a business selling potatoes in small wholesale may not be as profitable as the entrepreneur thinks.

Potatoes are one of the most popular products among Russians, so growing them seems to be a profitable business

Demand Characteristics

The population's demand for potatoes is characterized by the following indicators. Firstly, stability and independence from the season . Potatoes are bought equally well in summer and winter, with the small difference that in the fall the demand for potatoes in bulk increases. Secondly, independence from the social and economic status of consumers. This product is not considered a luxury item; it is bought by both the poorest and wealthiest Russians.

Thirdly, the quality of processing and packaging. In recent years, consumers have appreciated the convenience of purchasing washed, packaged potatoes. Dirty earthen tubers in plastic bags are much inferior to clean ones packed in bags indicating the manufacturer and weight. Fourthly, home delivery of potatoes is becoming popular. People like not to bother themselves with a trip to the store or to the farmer, but simply order the desired product in large quantities. Delivery can become a strong competitive advantage, so a new entrepreneur should consider the possibility of such a service.

Selection and preparation of land for growing potatoes

Russians have been accustomed to growing potatoes in their dachas for decades, so they consider this task very simple. But this option is not suitable for business. To count on a large harvest, you need to correctly select and prepare the soil for this largely finicky crop. Feedback from potato business owners emphasizes the importance of choosing a site to work on.

The best types of soil for potatoes:

chernozem;
peat;
loamy;
sandy loam.

Heavy clay and sandy soils are not at all suitable for this agricultural crop. Clay soil is characterized by stagnation of water after snow or rain. In general, the soil should be light and loose, slightly acidic and non-alkaline. It is strictly forbidden to place seedlings in wet soil, otherwise they will immediately rot. The area will have to be pre-treated to create all the optimal conditions for potatoes.

The place for planting potatoes should be sunny. Shaded areas are not suitable: the tubers will grow small and the harvest will be modest. Moderate sunlight is what is needed for good growth. After rain, the ground must dry out quickly, because in a humid environment the seedlings get sick and are destroyed by parasites. It’s good if you can cover the area on the north side with dense bushes.

You cannot plant potatoes in soil where bell peppers and tomatoes previously grew. After them, pathogenic bacteria harmful to potatoes multiply in the soil. It is much better if cabbage, beets, cucumbers, and carrots grew on the plot. When planning your business, keep in mind that the soil for potatoes needs a break; you should not use the same soil for 2 seasons in a row: the yield will drop.

Features of soil preparation

Preparing the site for planting potatoes begins in the fall. If the site is in a lowland, it is dug up, making it higher and more convex. This will help the melt water leave in the spring faster and the soil to dry out faster. In addition, this prevents soil acidification, which is extremely harmful to this crop. You can add a little fine sand to the soil. If these activities are carried out every season, after 3-4 years the soil fertility will increase several times.

For the winter, the site is dug up and fertilized. Manure should not be left open, but covered with a 5-centimeter layer of soil. So in the spring, earthworms will breed here, whose vital activity has a good effect on fertility. In addition to organic fertilizers, it is worth using phosphorus-potassium additives.

In spring, the soil is loosened to a depth of 10 cm, all weeds and remnants of rhizomes are removed. Next they add: compost, ash, mineral fertilizers and manure. Fresh manure cannot be used in spring, because there is a high risk of soil contamination with parasites. Only rotted or humus. These are the main subtleties that are worth knowing about preparing the soil for planting potatoes. More details can be gleaned from reference literature and, of course, from practice.

Not only the size of the land is important, but also the quality of the soil, as well as the use of fertility-increasing techniques

Purchase of agricultural machinery

A business plan for growing potatoes must include the purchase of equipment. It can be reasonably argued that some farmers manage to grow crops with only a shovel. But this approach is not suitable for business. The list and quantity of equipment directly depend on the scale of the enterprise. Standard list of agricultural machinery:

tractor and revolving meadow;
disc harrow (a modernized version of the disc harrow);
vertical milling cultivator;
planter;
ridge former;
sprayer;
bobbler;
harvesting combine;
loading hopper;
conveyor-collector “Mole”;
drum washing machine (if you plan to sell washed potatoes);
packing machine.

In addition to equipment, storage space will be required. To save space, you can use prefabricated structures. For example, a modern prefabricated potato storage facility with a capacity of 500 tons provides all the necessary storage conditions. This can be ordered turnkey, from 2500 rubles per 1 sq.m. 500 tons - 1,250,000 rubles.

The market is dominated by equipment from Russia and Belarus.

Sometimes ready-made sets of equipment are sold, but in the case of growing potatoes this is not so profitable. Equipment and combines must be selected based on the size of the plot and the type of soil. You can buy everything you need for a medium-sized farm for an average of 30 million rubles, for a small one - within 10 million. You can save money if you buy used equipment or actively use manual labor.

Hiring

Growing and processing potatoes as a business is impossible without staff. The bulk of the employees will be workers who will maintain the equipment and work directly on the sites. Some of them will need tractor and combine licenses, others will need a short course in how to operate agricultural machinery. Most workers are hired for a season.

Agronomists with specialized education should monitor the condition of the soil and working technologies. These same specialists are responsible for selecting varieties, creating conditions for their cultivation, that is, managing the technological process. Managers are responsible for the sale of finished products or purchasing.

Ways to increase potato yields

To get a good harvest, you will have to: spray the potatoes, hill them, and weed them. This is a standard set of activities aimed at caring for the plant. But, in addition to the activities described above, it is worth getting acquainted with the “tricks” that are well known to experienced gardeners.

Use of high-yielding varieties

To increase the yield, gardeners resort to varieties that actively bear fruit. Preference is given to mid- and late-ripening species, but much depends on the climate.

If you grow potatoes in the middle zone, then give preference to the following varieties:

Gala;
Red Scarlet;
Russian beauty;
Naiad.

Gala is considered a champion in terms of productivity and is in demand among gardeners. Getting planting material will not be difficult. The crop yield is 200-260 centners per hectare.

Optimal conditions

To increase the yield, you will have to provide the vegetables with the proper conditions:

Potatoes need high-quality watering; it is advisable to use rainwater for this purpose.
Weed plants, hill them, remove weeds and pests.
The crop needs sunlight and moisture; you will have to think about the drainage system if the water stagnates in the soil.

Mittlider method

An interesting method for saving land, in terms of space. What is the essence of the technique:

to get a large harvest, you will have to form beds of 0.6 meters with passages between them of 1 meter;
the beds are surrounded by earthen ramparts, which reduces the number of irrigation procedures;
During the season, the crop is fed at least 3 times, but the bushes are not hilled.

The method allows you to grow a large number of potatoes, the average increases, the maximum yield is considered to be 55 tons per hectare of planting.

Gülich method

The following method will help you achieve good results:

The soil is divided into squares, meter by meter.
Add humus to the soil and plant the plant (plant 1 large tuber).
When it germinates, cover it with loose soil in the middle so that the plant changes its planting angle.
The procedure is repeated after a week or two.
When grown in the country, it will be possible to improve the results.

Factors influencing the amount of potato harvest

In order to create comfortable conditions for potatoes, it is necessary to take into account a number of factors, including soil characteristics, and observe crop rotation. Plant green manure, plants that additionally enrich the soil with nitrogen.

Crop rotation

The harvest will be high if you follow crop rotation.

Green manures, good predecessors of potatoes, are:

winter crops: barley, rye, wheat;
peas and other legumes;
mustard;
lupine.

A good potato harvest depends on:

From the correct choice of the variety of mother tuber.
The variety must correspond to the climatic conditions of the region.
On the quality of tubers intended for planting. It is recommended to choose potatoes 5 cm or larger in size, with good sprouts.
It is important to prepare tubers for planting: germination, disinfection.
From proper preparation and arrangement of beds. The optimal location for the potato furrow is from north to south.
Growing techniques.
It is necessary to take into account the qualitative characteristics of soils.
Fertilizing with organic and mineral fertilizers.
Productivity depends on watering. Select the optimal mode for a specific climate zone.
From comprehensive care.
On the effectiveness of pest and disease control.

Before planting, potatoes are disinfected.

Healthy planting material

An important point is preparing the tubers for planting. Within two weeks, the potatoes are sorted and the sprouted sprouts are removed.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

Ask a Question

Important! Choose healthy tubers (from 5 cm). Potatoes are disinfected to prevent diseases and protect against pests.

The following compositions are used:

garlic twisted in a meat grinder (1 kg per 10 l), soaked (for 2-3 hours) or sprayed.
copper sulfate and boric acid in the ratio: 5 g of vitriol, 15 g of acid per 10 l;
superphosphate (60g), urea (40g); copper sulfate (5g), potassium permanganate (1 g), boric acid (10 g). Dissolve in 10 liters of water.
Potassium sulfate (30 g), urea (40 g), boric acid (15 g), copper sulfate (1 g), manganese (0.5 g) are dissolved in 10 liters of water.

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Soak for several hours or spray the mother tubers.

They determine the technology for growing potatoes in order to properly prepare the soil and beds.

Selection of productive varieties

All potato varieties are divided into early varieties (reach maturity in up to 60 days). Potatoes are meant to be eaten and are not stored for long.

Medium (vegetative period up to 100 days) and late (up to 140 days) varieties are suitable for winter storage.

Varieties from 350 to 500 or more centners per hectare are considered productive. These varieties include: Idaho, Udacha, Bellarosa, Ryabinushka, Temp, Radonezhsky.

Note. High-yielding varieties of foreign selection include: Impola, Condor, Latona, Red Scarlet, Ukama. They have large tubers and are resistant to diseases, in particular potato nematode.

Soil composition

To grow any agricultural crop, you need to select the most suitable soil composition.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

Ask a Question

Important! A loose, well-fertilized soil structure is the best soil for potato development. Provides free access of oxygen to the root system and promotes tuber growth.

Potatoes grow well on sandy, loamy peat lands and black soils. Slightly acidic soils with a pH of 5.5 are suitable for cultivation.

Proper planting and care

An important point is preparing the tubers for planting. Within two weeks, the potatoes are sorted and the sprouted sprouts are removed.

They determine the technology for growing potatoes in order to properly prepare the soil and beds.

For the growth of potato tubers, space is needed, so the distance between the bushes is at least 25-30 cm, and the row spacing is from 65-75 cm.

Potatoes develop at temperatures from 16 to 20⁰С. In hot weather, there is a high probability of buds wilting, and accordingly, the growth of tubers is inhibited.

You should not plant potatoes in early spring when there is a threat of frost. The plant can die, even from a slight frost, if it is not covered with film.

Moderate humidity is the optimal regime for potato development. In temperate climates, three waterings are sufficient: during planting, before and after flowering. In dry areas, additional watering is required.

Mulching prevents the development of weeds, maintains optimal moisture conditions, and fertilizes the soil.

Special techniques

There are methods by which the yield rises to 400-500 centners per hectare.

Mittlider method

Potatoes are grown in narrow beds, up to 9 m long and 0.45 m wide, with row spacing up to 1 meter. The American agronomist believes that in such beds the bush develops better and large tubers are formed. The technology is suitable for smooth terrain or with minor irregularities. In the second case, it is rational to install stationary beds with sides up to 35-40 cm high.

Planting using the Mittlider method:

The beds are arranged from north to south. Using pegs with a rope, markings are made.
Prepare the ground. The markings limit the edges of the bed. Select the middle of the bed. Make a shallow groove for applying mineral fertilizers.
They dig up the soil in the garden bed to mix fertilizers with the soil.
Use a rake to level the soil in the garden bed. Sides up to 10 cm high are formed along the edges to retain moisture.
Mark the holes. Potatoes are planted sprouts up, in 2 rows with an interval of 30 cm between holes, according to a checkerboard pattern. Sprinkle with earth and carefully level with a rake.

They retreat 1 m from the bed and form the next one.

It is recommended to regularly moisten the soil in the beds; the space between the rows is weeded and trampled down.

Note! According to the Mittlider method, mineral fertilizers are mainly used. The composition of fertilizers is selected depending on the type of soil.

Gülich technology

Interesting technique. Large tubers are used as seed material.

Sequence of planting potatoes:

The area is marked into squares 1 m x 1 m. I mark the middle.
A recess with sides is made in the center. Humus and overripe manure mixed with soil are poured into it and a small mound is formed.
Large potatoes are planted in it, sprouts down.
When young shoots appear, they are sprinkled with earth in the middle. The stems of the bush grow to the side, like rays. Sprinkled with soil, they send out additional axillary roots.
The operation is repeated several times as the plant grows. As a result, new roots grow from the leaf axils and tubers are formed.
During the growing season, potatoes are fed, watered, and the soil is loosened. A powerful bush of several tiers is formed.

See also Features of foliar feeding of potatoes

The yield from one bush is 12-15 kg.

Pinto technology

Mark the bed into equal squares. At the intersection points, the mother tuber is pressed into the ground. They do not cover it with soil; they keep it for 2-3 weeks. When shoots appear, sprinkle with earth, without hilling. The point of the technique is that slightly dried potatoes develop a more powerful root system. Productivity increases.

Dutch method

Methods for growing potatoes in ridges. Dutch potato varieties are suitable as mother tubers.

Planting potatoes using the Dutch method:

The land for the beds is prepared in the fall. Dig to the depth of a shovel. Organic fertilizers, superphosphate, and potassium sulfate are applied.
In the spring, do 2 fertilizing with urea. The soil is loosened to a depth of 15 cm with a cultivator.
The uterine tubers are germinated and pickled for a month, in the dark, at temperatures up to + 18⁰ C.
Mark the area: furrow width 35 cm, step between bushes 35 cm, row spacing 70 cm.
Add organic fertilizer and a little eggshell to each hole.
Potatoes are planted and soil is covered in a layer of up to 6 cm.
Weed when weeds appear.
After 2 weeks, add soil and raise the ridge to 12 cm.
As the bush grows, increase the height of the furrow to 30 cm, raking up soil from between the rows.
2 weeks before full maturity, the tops are cut off.
Potatoes are kept in the ground for 2 weeks. Then they dig it up.

Note. Potatoes in ridges are more convenient to process; the yield rises to 400 kg per 1 ha.

Growing potatoes in straw

This method is suitable for difficult soils, including rocky ones. The technique is simple: the potatoes are laid out in shallow holes and lightly sprinkled with soil. Cover the top with straw, a layer of 30 cm. Hay, garden mulch, sawdust, and mown grass are used as covering material. Moisture is retained inside the straw pile, and the potatoes receive fertilizer from rotting plants.

Important! The advantage of the technique is not only in increasing productivity. There is no need to dig up the tubers; just pull the bush by the tops. For early potato shoots, planting tubers are pre-germinated.

Landing under black film

A simple method suitable for growing early potatoes. Prepare the soil, loosen it, apply fertilizer. Cover with black film. The edges are fixed with metal staples, pegs, and sprinkled with soil. Cross-shaped cuts are made in the middle. Through them, potatoes are buried in the soil. The depth is selected individually, depending on the type of soil.

Note! The advantage of the technique is that the soil under the film does not dry out, condensation accumulates, and weeds do not grow. Film technology will give a noticeable effect in combination with drip irrigation.