Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.); Solanaceae
Varieties – Kufri Jyoti, Kufri Muthu, Kufri Swarna, Kufri Thangam, Kufri Malar, Kufri Giriraj, Kufri Giridari
Soil and Climate – The soil should be friable, porous and well drained. The optimum pH range is 4.8 to 5.4. It is a cool weather crop. Potato is mostly grown as a rainfed crop. Cultivated in regions receiving a rainfall of 1200 – 2000 mm per annum.
Season and Planting
Summer : March – April
Autumn : August – September
Irrigated : January – February
Seed rate – 3,000 – 3,500 kg/ha.
Preparation of field – Prepare the land to fine tilth. Provide drainage channel along the inner edge of the terrace. Form ridges and furrows with a spacing of 45 cm between ridges and plant tubers @20 cm spacing.
Spacing – 60 x 30 x 20cm in paired row system.
Irrigation – Irrigate the crop 10 days after planting. Subsequent irrigation should be given once a week. Wherever water facilities are available, sprinkler irrigation is recommended.
Drip irrigation
Install drip system with main and sub-main and place the inline laterals at the interval of 1.5. Form raised beds at 120 cm width at an interval of 60cm and place two laterals in each bed.
Application of Manures
- Basal application of 25 t of FYM and 2 kg each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria and top dressing of vermicompost @ 6 t/ha in 2 equal splits at 15 days interval (3 t at 15 days after sowing and 3 t at 30 days after sowing).
- Foliar nutrition – Spray 3% panchagavya twice at 30 and 45 days after planting
After Cultivation
Weed control
The critical period of weed-competition is upto 60 days and it is essential to keep the field weed-free during that period. Take up the first hoeing on 45th day without disturbing stolons and second hoeing and earthing up on 60th day.
Plant Protection
Pests
Cut worms
- Plough soil during summer months
- Set up light trap between 7-10 pm to attract the adults.
- Set up pheromone traps @ 20/ha to monitor and attract male moths.
- Collect the first instar larvae from lace-like damaged leaves.
- Collect the grown up larvae from the soil (near the damaged stem) and destroy.
- Set up sprinkler system during day time to expose the hidden larvae for predation by birds.
- Apply NSKE 5% or neem oil @ 2 lit/acre using 500 litres of spray fluid.
- Collect grown up caterpillars mechanically
Potato tuber moth
- Select healthy tubers and plant at 15 cm depth to avoid oviposition.
- Set up pheromone traps @ 12/ha. Septa can be replaced once in a year.
- Release egg-larval parasitoid, Chelonus blackburnii @12,000 parasites/acre twice (on 40 and 70 days after planting)
- Earth up and cover the tubers to prevent oviposition in exposed tubers.
- Cover the top layers of seed tubers with Lantana or Euclayptus branches to repel the ovipositing female moths.
Nematode
- Avoid growing potato year after year in the same field.
- Crop rotation with pea, radish, garlic, wheat and green manures.
- Intercrop with mustard @ 4:1.
- Seed treatment with P. fluorescens @ 20g/kg followed by soil application of P. fluorescens or Purpureocillium lilacinum @ 5kg/ha mixed with 250kg FYM.
Diseases
Late blight
- Carefully select seed tubers
- Remove ground creepers which serve as a source of infection
- Grow late blight resistant varieties like KufriJyothi, Kufri Malar and KufriThangam.
Brown rot
- Select disease free seeds
- Give proper drainage facilities
- Remove and destroy the affected plants
Virus diseases
- Use virus free potato seed tubers
- Rogue out the virus affected plants regularly
Yield: 15 – 20 t/ha in a duration of 120 days.