2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Let's talk about what affects the keeping quality of potatoes and how to increase the shelf life at home. Consider the "batch" method for checking selected root crops in order to predict storage. Potato varieties for long-term storage are also listed here
What determines the keeping quality of root crops
Keeping quality is the preservation of all the original qualities of potatoes (taste, weight, marketable) for a long time. This process / ability depends on the variety, cultivation, harvest time, storage mode chosen. It is equally important on what type of soil was cultivated, the presence of pests, an excess of pesticides and nitrogen substances, and disease.
The applied fertilizers also matter. If you overdo it with nitrogenous substances, then there will be an overabundance of sugars in the tubers, which negatively affects storage, especially along with diseases. All of these parameters are equally important and have an impact in the aggregate.
Potatoes of late varieties, fully ripe, grown in crumbly high-quality soil, without damage, healthy, clean and dry, will be well stored. Experts say that root crops harvested 20-30 days before the tops die back to good keeping quality.
Which varieties of potatoes are best stored
Not all varieties have good storage potential. Potatoes are divided into three main groups: mid-ripening, early-ripening and late-ripening. Each species has many varieties, its own characteristics and timing of ripening and collection. For example, late-ripening varieties do not dig in August, and early species do not stand in the ground until October.
All early varieties are cultivated for consumption and quick processing, they do not lie and you will not be able to store them for a long time, as they quickly wrinkle, rot, and lose their elasticity. Such potatoes are dug in summer, the deadline for use is autumn. In the cellar, it will not last longer than December - it will begin to germinate.
The best potato varieties for storage are late and mid-season: Golubizna, Atlant, Picasso, Vesnyanka, Zhuravinka, Asterix, Sante, Vodogray, Minerva, Serpanok, Belaya, Rosa. Not particularly demanding on storage temperature: League, Scarlet Sail, Naiad, Lorkh, Luck, Atlant.
Experienced gardeners recommend using 2-3 different varieties for winter storage, since each will lead in a cellar differently. You will see this in the process and will be able to leave until spring, the most lax.
Tuber quality
Potato growers argue that it's not just the variety that affects storage. An equally important fact is the quality of the tubers. Unripe potatoes, even a good variety, will not lie.
How to check the maturity of tubers? The indicator is the peel, test its condition - rub it with your finger. If the skin comes off / exfoliates - this is a sign of immaturity, it keeps tight - the fruit is ready to be harvested. Mowing the tops helps to speed up aging. Before the planned digging, you need to do this in a week, leaving 15 centimeter "hemp".
Sorting of root crops is mandatory, with the rejection of damaged and sick ones. Before storage, it is recommended to hold at moderate temperatures: 15-20 days (+ 12 … + 18). During this time, micro wounds heal and dry up. Tubers with late blight, signs of rot or frostbite are not stored.
Package method
This is a kind of testing of potatoes for the presence of diseases, carried out using a plastic bag. The procedure is easy to use and popular not only in industrial potato growing, but also in households.
Two weeks before the expected harvest, 3-5 bushes are dug up. The best potatoes are selected from the collected mass and placed in a large bag. It is left indoors (+ 15 … + 20), as a result, an ideal regime for the development of microorganisms is created in the polyethylene.
This reveals the presence of infections, wet rot, late blight, etc. If the tubers remain clean, you have healthy potatoes. If most specimens of the tested material are affected, it will not be possible to store potatoes for a long time.
How to store potatoes correctly and increase their keeping quality
The chances of keeping the potatoes intact are increased by using the following methods.
1. On the floor of the cellar, a crate is made of boards.
2. The box is divided into compartments. Partitions made of wood, which are removed as the container is empty.
3. The cellar needs care: processing with sulfur checkers, boards are dried in summer and whitewashed with lime.
4. For convenience, potatoes can be folded into nylon nets
5. In a box, the potatoes are laid in layers with beets, or they are laid out on top in several layers.
6. Potatoes are not shifted or sorted unnecessarily, so as not to disturb the gaseous microenvironment that forms in a heap of potatoes.
Observing the rules of collection and storage, your potatoes will not get sick and will remain in perfect condition until spring.
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