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Belarus has long been famous as a region in which they love and know how to grow potatoes, it is not for nothing that it is even called the second homeland of this popular vegetable. The work of breeders to develop the best potato variety continues, and in recent years the Ragneda variety has been obtained, which, despite its relative youth, has already gained popularity among summer residents and gardeners.
History of origin
About 10 years ago, by crossing Charodey and form 1579-14, specialists of the SPC of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus for Potato and Horticulture created a new variety of potatoes, which was called Ragneda.
In 2011, this potato was already registered in the State Register of Our Country with a recommendation for cultivation in the Central and Northwestern districts. But thanks to many interesting characteristics, the popularity of this potato variety is gaining momentum, and it is grown not only in Belarus and in the above-mentioned regions, but also in many other regions of Our Country and even in Ukraine. The easiest way to purchase seed material of this variety is through the Institute of Potato Growing, located near Minsk in the village of Samokhvalovichi.
Description and characteristics
Ragneda potatoes belong to medium-late varieties in terms of ripening – in order for the tubers to ripen well, it is necessary that 95 to 110 days have passed since the first shoots appeared. Of course, to grow such potatoes, it will take more work and patience than for early varieties, but the taste and yield will pay off all your efforts.
Potato bushes grow tall, with an abundance of leaves, do not have a particular tendency to spread out to the sides, however, hilling will favorably affect the increase in yield. The leaves are medium in size, even, almost without waviness along the edge, have a color from light green to green.
The Ragneda variety is gaining great popularity, primarily due to high yields.
And if you create good conditions for growth and development, you can get up to 430 c/ha. For a gardener, especially a beginner, it is more interesting to know how many potato tubers can be harvested from one Ragneda bush. This amount can be 15-20, and this should be taken into account when planting potatoes – tubers should be planted at a slightly greater distance than ordinary early varieties.
A feature of the Ragneda potato variety is that the plants adapt very well to various growing conditions and soils, therefore they are interesting for use in different regions and for beginners in gardening.
Root crops have the following characteristics:
- The shape of the tubers is oval-round, regular;
- Eyes can be both shallow and medium depth;
- The rind is yellow in color and the flesh is creamy white;
- Tubers grow medium in size, the weight of one root crop is from 78 to 120 grams;
- The starch content is quite significant, it can vary from 12,7 to 18,4%. Due to this, the potatoes tend to boil well when cooked.
The percentage of marketable fruits of potatoes among the total amount of the crop is, depending on weather conditions, from 83 to 96%. Such a large spread shows that with a lack of moisture and other unfavorable conditions, Ragneda potatoes can form a significant number of small tubers that are not very suitable for sale.
Potatoes are well stored, the keeping quality is about 97%. But, due to the high energy of germination of tubers, already in February-March, friendly sprouts usually begin to actively appear in root crops. To prevent this from happening, the temperature in the vaults must be strictly kept within the range of 0 to + 2 ° C, which, of course, is not always feasible in ordinary village cellars, especially in the southern regions.
The taste qualities of potatoes of the Ragneda variety are rated as good and excellent. Root vegetables make wonderful mashed potatoes. The variety belongs to the table by appointment.
The value of the variety lies in the rather high resistance to most of the most common diseases, primarily to phytophthora. Also, the Ragneda variety is well resistant to potato cancer, golden cyst nematode, wrinkled and striped mosaic and leaf curl virus.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages | Disadvantages |
High yield | Requires low temperatures during storage, otherwise it germinates quickly |
Resistance to late blight, potato cancer and many other diseases | If the rules of care are not followed and bad weather conditions can grow small |
Good taste and boilability of potatoes |
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Damage resistant and well preserved |
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The variety is not capricious to the choice of soil |
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High germination energy and friendly emergence of all sprouts |
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Landing
For planting Ragneda potatoes, it is important to choose the optimal time – at a depth of 10 cm, the soil temperature should be at least + 8 ° C. But in order not to walk around the garden with a thermometer, most experienced gardeners advise focusing on the blooming of birch leaves. The best moment for planting potatoes comes when the birch begins to be covered with a barely noticeable green haze of foliage. Delay in planting is also undesirable, since the soil can lose most of its moisture.
Usually, a month before planting, potatoes are germinated in the light, thereby culling even before planting, diseased and weak tubers with weak, thread-like sprouts.
Almost any place is suitable for planting the Ragneda variety, it is desirable that in past years tomatoes have not been grown on it, since they have the same pests and diseases with potatoes.
Planting is best done more sparsely, leaving at least 15-20 cm between tubers, and between rows from 70 to 90 cm. In this case, the bushes will have enough space to form a significant crop.
Care
Ragneda potatoes are relatively unpretentious to growing conditions, but still some basic care procedures must take place.
Hilling and top dressing
It is traditionally believed that it is impossible to grow potatoes without hilling. Indeed, this procedure allows you to get much more significant yields, and even when using non-traditional methods of growing potatoes (such as under straw), hilling also plays an important role. In the latter case, they simply spud the bushes not with earth, but with straw.
After all, this procedure not only contributes to the formation of additional roots on potato bushes, but also preserves soil moisture, limits the growth of weeds, and also enhances air exchange in the upper layers of the soil, where young tubers develop.
Potato hilling is carried out at least 2 times per season:
- The first time – when the sprouts reach a height of 15-20 cm, falling asleep almost with their heads;
- The second time – some time before flowering, without waiting for the closing of the bushes.
If you use mowed grass with humus for hilling, this will serve as additional feeding for potato bushes.
It is optimal to combine other dressings with watering potatoes, it is especially important to do this during flowering, if there is no natural precipitation during this period.
Diseases and pests
The main problems of potatoes | Evidence | How to help plants |
Fitoftoroz | Dark spots on the leaves, bushes wither | Treatment with Phytosporin, whey, iodine. |
destroyed | Ulcers on tubers | Treatment of planting material with Fitosporin and cultivation of green manure before and after potatoes |
Colorado beetle | Many striped beetles with larvae almost completely eat the leaves | With a small lesion – sprinkle with wood ash on wet leaves. With a strong – treat with Confidor, Mospilan. |
Wireworm | Potato tubers are dotted with long passages. | Plant rye or mustard on the plot and do not use it for 1-2 years for planting potatoes |
Viruses | Leaves shrink, lighten and curl | It is impossible to cure, the crop from such bushes must be dug up separately and fed to animals. |
Harvesting
Harvest of Ragned potatoes usually begins to be harvested 30-40 days after flowering, when the tops gradually turn yellow and dry out. A week or two before harvesting, it is recommended to mow the entire above-ground part – the tubers will be better stored, and it will also be more convenient to dig them out.
Conclusion
Despite its relative youth, the Ragneda potato variety has already gained many fans, as it is stable and unpretentious in cultivation, and at the same time tasty and productive.
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