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The founder of the variety is the well-known Dutch company C.MEIJER BV Potato Melodiya was zoned in the Central region of Our Country in 2009. The variety was registered and tested on the territory of Moldova and Ukraine.
Description
Potato variety “Melody” belongs to the category of medium-late and late. The time from planting to harvest is 100 to 120 days. The plant of the Melodiya variety is a semi-upright type of bush, with juicy green, slightly wavy leaves of a closed type. The color of the flowers is reddish purple.
Potato tubers are oval in shape, with small superficial eyes. The skin is yellowish in color, with a pronounced mesh pattern. The weight of one tuber varies from 95 to 180 grams. The nests are compact and well aligned. The number of potato tubers on one plant is from 7 to 11 pcs. Potatoes have an excellent taste (score of 5 points out of 5 possible). It can be used both for cooking various dishes and for industrial processing (dry mashed potatoes). The dry matter content is from 20,5%. Potatoes of this variety are not suitable for making chips and deep frying.
The variety has a high yield. Here are the characteristics for this indicator.
- The average yield of the variety is from 176 to 335 centners per 1 hectare.
- The maximum value of the yield is 636 centners per 1 hectare (fixed in the Moscow region).
In addition to a high yield, potatoes have an attractive appearance, high keeping quality (about 95%). The tubers of this variety tolerate transportation well and are resistant to mechanical stress. The advantages of the variety include a long dormant period (7-8 months). This allows you to keep potatoes for a long time without breaking off the sprouts.
Features of agricultural technology
In the spring, seed potatoes of the Melodiya variety should be checked for damage and signs of disease. For planting potatoes, only healthy tubers with a diameter of 30-70 mm, at least, should be used.
When planting “slices”, the mass of each should not be less than 50 grams.
The planting time of the variety is May (from the middle to the end of the month). Potato planting scheme 700 x 350 mm. The highest yield can be achieved with dense planting (the number of bushes per 100 square meters is from 55 to 700). The depth of the holes is made to ensure good germination of potato bushes.
- For loams and clay soils, the planting depth of the variety is 70-80 mm.
- For sandy soils and sandy loams, potatoes are planted at 90-120 mm.
Crop rotation is essential for a good harvest. Herbaceous plants, winter crops, lupins, flax, plants of the legume family are among the best green manure.
Potatoes of this variety are demanding for care, they need regular loosening of the soil, weeding, good watering. Weeds should not be left even between the rows, since with a large mass of weeds, the number of tubers on a potato bush is significantly reduced.
Soil cultivation
- In the autumn, the site is dug up. 3-4 cm of fertile soil is added. It is possible to apply organic fertilizers (compost, humus) in the amount of 4-5 kg per square meter of land. If the thickness of the fertile soil layer is less than 30 cm, then the amount of humus per one “square” increases to 9 kg. It is impossible to apply manure directly under the bushes, since the risk of damage to potato tubers increases.
- Of the mineral fertilizers for potatoes of this variety, potash and phosphorus are preferred.
- Tillage in the spring consists in digging and applying mineral fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate). For fertile soils – from 16 to 20 grams per square meter. For depleted soils, the amount of mineral fertilizers per square increases to 25 g.
Potatoes are harvested after the bushes have withered and a fairly thick skin has formed on the tubers.
Pests and diseases of potatoes “Melody”
The variety is moderately resistant to the Y-virus.
Good resistance to such diseases.
- Potato cancer (pathotype I).
- Golden cyst nematode.
- Mosaics of all kinds.
- Blackleg.
- rhizocontia.
- Scab.
It is possible to fight the invasions of the Colorado potato beetle on potatoes of the Melodiya variety only with the help of chemical means (Corado, Taboo, Commander, etc.).
Phytophthora prevention
Phytophthora is a fungal disease that affects the whole plant. The fungus develops best at high humidity and air temperature. The best preventive measure is careful seed selection. In addition, starting from the fall, it is necessary to carry out such events.
- After harvesting potatoes, do not leave plant residues on the site (tubers, remains of bushes).
- Treatment of seed with antifungal drugs. Best suited: Agat 25K (per 1 liter of water – 12 g) and Immunocytophyte (per 1 liter of water – 3 g).
- Regular sevosmen (do not grow nightshade plants in the same place for 2-3 years). If this is not possible, soil disinfection using Bordeaux mixture helps. This is especially true for the southern regions.
If there is a threat of late blight infection, potato bushes are treated with special preparations 2 times with a break of 1,5 weeks. Helps Arcedil (5,5 g per 1 liter of water), Ridomil (2,7 g per 1 liter of water), Ossikh (2,0 g per 1 liter of water).
Syngenta is quite expensive, but extremely effective. It helps even with total infection of potatoes with phytophthora. It is used both as a therapeutic and as a prophylactic agent.
Increase the resistance of potato varieties “Melody” to fungal infections and growth stimulants (Ekosin, Epil Plus).
If you do not want to abuse chemicals, then folk remedies help fight late blight quite successfully.
- Infusion of garlic (100 g of crushed garlic cloves per ten-liter bucket of water). The solution is used for weekly spraying of potato bushes for a month.
- Sour-milk solution (1 liter of sour kefir per 10 liters of water). Spraying is done every week, until the visible signs of the disease disappear.
- For 10 liters of water: 1 tsp. potassium permanganate, copper sulfate and boric acid. The processing time falls on the hottest period of summer (end of July-beginning of August). Potato bushes are sprayed twice with a week break.
- Mulching the soil with lime in a layer of 0,1-0,2 cm.
The fight against phytophthora is a rather laborious task. Therefore, it is desirable to take effective preventive measures to avoid infection of potato plants.
The fight against viral diseases mainly consists in the prevention of infection.
- The use of healthy planting material (preferably certified).
- Preventive inspection of plants and timely removal of affected potato bushes. This will prevent the infection from spreading.
- When growing in a small area, select potatoes for planting material immediately from healthy bushes.
- Thorough cleaning of the beds from weeds.
- Destruction of pests. Aphids, cicadas and the Colorado potato beetle are carriers of viral infections.
- Treatment of planting material with antiviral agents.
- Compliance with crop rotation.
The insidiousness of viral diseases is that at first they develop almost imperceptibly. But after 2-3 years, if no action is taken, the yield of potatoes is significantly reduced. Therefore, it is important to recognize the disease in a timely manner and prevent its development.