Growing potatoes has long turned into a kind of hobby-competition between gardeners, since buying any quantity of any variety of ware potatoes, if desired, has long been no problem. And for the money spent, it is available to almost everyone. But for any summer resident, and even more so the owner of a village farmstead, potatoes are not just a vegetable, they are a kind of gardening symbol.
Ever since it appeared on the territory of Our Country, it has not immediately, but gradually acquired the status of a second bread. Therefore, every gardener is trying to come up with and test in practice any new methods for increasing yields and taste in growing potatoes. Sometimes the well-forgotten old is remembered, and sometimes the experience of other countries is used. This is how it turns out with the currently fairly common method of trimming the tops of potatoes. Many have been successfully using this technique for several years and do not even remember how they lived without it.
Others are perplexed – why are these extra efforts needed, and even with an effect incomprehensible to many. Still others know and understand the importance of the reception, but their opinions on the time of its use sometimes differ. Indeed, determining exactly when to mow the tops of potatoes is not entirely simple. Too much depends on the specific climatic and weather conditions and the characteristics of the potato variety. So, it is necessary to understand why, when and how this procedure is carried out.
Reasons for trimming potato tops
Everyone knows from biology that the formation of stolons (underground shoots) and tubers in potatoes usually coincides with the budding and flowering phase of plants.
In the future, starting from the moment of flowering and until the natural drying of the aerial part of the bushes, potato tubers grow and develop intensively, accumulating starch and other nutrients. Throughout this period, the tubers themselves are covered with a thin, delicate skin, which is not at all intended for storage or protection from external influences, but is very tasty when cooked. No wonder young potatoes are very much appreciated by gourmets.
It is interesting that it is after the drying of the tops of the potato that the process of coarsening and the formation of a strong and dense protective skin begins, thanks to which the potato is able to be stored for a long time. It also, as a rule, protects the tubers from damage during harvesting and from various fungal infections during storage. Hence the conclusion – if the harvest time is already approaching, frosts are coming, and the potatoes continue to turn green as if nothing had happened, then they definitely need to mow the tops and leave for a week to complete all biological processes and form a protective peel. Only then can you start digging up the tubers.
It is also important to mow the tops of potatoes for the reason that the stalks of potatoes reviving and growing again at the end of summer will draw nutrients from new tubers for their development. That is why such potatoes do not store well.
Another common situation, when mowing the tops of potatoes is a necessary procedure, is the defeat of potato bushes with late blight. This disease is a frequent companion of potatoes, especially in humid and cool summers. It is capable of destroying the entire potato crop in a few weeks. Infection occurs through the aerial part of plants and only after some time the infection penetrates into the tubers. Therefore, if you notice that the green leaves are beginning to become stained and turn black, then you need to cut off the tops of the potatoes as soon as possible and burn them. This technique will help prevent the spread of the disease and save the crop. Often this procedure is also carried out for preventive purposes in those regions and under such weather conditions, when the probability of the spread of late blight is very high.
Thus, answering the question: “Why do they mow the tops of potatoes?”, The following main reasons can be noted:
- For the formation of a coarsened protective skin on tubers;
- To accelerate the ripening of tubers and their better preservation;
- To reduce the likelihood of spoilage from diseases both during the growth of potatoes and during further storage of tubers;
- For the convenience of harvesting (so as not to get confused in high potato tops).
True, there are other reasons for mowing potato tops, which are much less common, but still have the right to exist, since they are confirmed by practical experience.
Some gardeners, referring to foreign experience, have been mowing potato tops for more than a year 10-12 days after flowering. Others recall the experience of their great-grandparents, who at the beginning of the last century, a week or two after the flowering of potatoes, crushed all potato tops with special heavy rollers. However, it is quite possible to simply stomp on the bushes with your feet if the areas with potatoes are small. In both cases, the increase in yield ranged from 10 to 15%. Moreover, potato tubers became larger in size and better preserved. Harvesting took place at the same time at the usual time, approximately one and a half to two months after flowering, depending on the potato variety.
But that’s not all. Back in the middle of the last century, agronomists proved in practice that pruning potato stalks is an effective way to combat potato degeneration.
If you are growing potatoes for seeds, then the best time to carry out such a procedure is the time when the bushes are just starting to bloom, that is, the budding phase.
If you linger with pruning until the moment of full flowering, then you may not get a similar effect. It is necessary to cut the stalks of potatoes at a height of about 15-20 cm for late varieties and about 10 cm for early ones. The increase in yield can reach up to 22 – 34%.
Mowing terms
Perhaps the most controversial issue among experienced gardeners is the question of when to cut the tops of potatoes. According to the standard accepted theory, this should be done about a week or two before the expected harvest time in order to allow the tubers to build up a protective shell.
As you already understood, if there is a danger of phytophthora in your region, then it is quite acceptable to mow the tops even earlier, especially when the first signs of the disease appear.
At the same time, the theory is becoming increasingly popular that if you mow the tops of potatoes already 12-14 days after flowering, this will favorably affect the yield and size of tubers, increase their safety and even improve taste characteristics. Gardeners who put this theory into practice note that tubers whose tops have been beveled have a less watery, more saturated, starchy taste. Indeed, in this case, additional moisture from the stems no longer enters the formed tubers. On the other hand, beveled tops do not draw nutrients from the tubers.
By the way, when growing potatoes for seeds, pruning and harvesting must be done at least a month earlier than the same procedures that are carried out for ware potatoes. Then they are less likely to pick up fungal and viral diseases and next year they will give an excellent harvest.
In any case, whether it is necessary to cut the tops of potatoes or not, everyone decides for himself. But if you have had problems growing potatoes in recent years, then it probably makes sense to do experiments and try to prune potato bushes at different times in experimental plots. And when harvesting, compare the results. Perhaps such experiments will be able to acquaint you with many interesting facts about the life of potatoes, which you still did not know about. And the question – do potatoes need pruning – will disappear for you by itself.
If the yields and safety of your potatoes completely satisfy you, then it may not be worth wasting time on experiments.
