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The Romano variety of Dutch selection has been known since 1994. It is excellently grown both by farms and summer residents, gardeners. Suitable for breeding in Ukraine, in many regions of Our Country (Central, Central Black Earth, Southern, Far Eastern).
Description
Romano potatoes are a representative of medium-early table varieties. The crop can be harvested 75-90 days after planting the tubers. The stems are erect, the flowers are red-violet in color, grow medium.
Smooth tubers have a light pink skin. The flesh on the cut has a creamy tint (as in the photo). Large round-oval potatoes are 80-90 g in weight and have a few eyes of medium depth. The yield of one bush is about 700-800 g (about 8-9 pieces). The starch content is 14-17%.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Romano potato variety stands out for its high yields and is popular with gardeners and farmers for many reasons.
Advantages |
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Disadvantages | Romano potatoes are sensitive to low temperatures and can be affected by frost. There is also a risk of scab or nematode damage. |
When choosing this variety, one must take into account the thick skin of the tubers. On the one hand, it is an excellent protection during digging and storage. On the other hand, to peel potatoes, you need to make some effort.
Landing
The main feature of Romano potatoes is that the seed is planted in well-heated soil. Choose a time when there is no threat of late frosts – the second half of May. The ideal temperature is + 15-20˚С. This condition ensures the friendly emergence of seedlings and high yields of root crops.
Tubers are treated before planting with growth stimulants (“Fumar”, “Poteytin”). Spraying potatoes of the Romano variety with special means increases productivity, ensures earlier germination, protects root crops from the Colorado potato beetle, and increases resistance to viral diseases. The most affordable and easiest option is to literally pour potatoes with wood ash diluted in water just before planting.
Since Romano tubers are large enough, you can cut them into pieces when planting. To cut potatoes, a sharply ground knife is used, which is periodically treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. The division of potato tubers is carried out immediately before planting. If this is done earlier, then the cut parts of the potato can rot. In the case of planting small fruits, it is necessary to put 2-4 tubers in the hole.
For potato beds, open and well-lit areas are allocated. If groundwater is high in the garden, then potato ridges are made high or form ridges.
Care
Variety Romano perfectly tolerates heat, a short drought. Therefore, during the season, you can water the beds 2-3 times. Periodically, potato plantings are weeded and loosened. It is advisable to do this work after moisturizing. Loosening the soil prevents it from drying out quickly, provides air access to the roots, levels the ground and destroys the soil crust. The first time you can and should loosen the soil about a week after germination.
Hilling and top dressing
During the growth period, it is recommended to spud the beds two or three times. It is better to combine this process with weeding. For the first time, sprouts 15-20 cm high are spudded. After two to three weeks, the beds are spudded again (before the flowering of the crop). It is better to allocate time for this on a cool day, after rain or watering. If the weather is hot, then it is better to start hilling Romano potatoes in the evening.
This procedure cannot be neglected, since several tasks are solved in this case: a volume of soil is created for the additional formation of root crops, the soil is loosened, and the moisture of the earth is preserved.
The Romano potato variety is very sensitive to soil nutrition. On scarce lands, it will not be possible to harvest a voluminous crop, so they must be fertilized.
As a rule, top dressing is applied in three stages:
- When shoots appear, specially moistened soil is watered with organic compounds. Solutions of manure or bird droppings are suitable. Fertilizer is preliminarily insisted for two days, and then a solution is prepared in a ratio of 1:15 (manure and water, respectively). For one bush of Romano potatoes, 0,5-0,7 liters is enough.
- In the budding phase, an excellent fertilizer will be a mixture of 4 tbsp. l ash and 1,5 tsp potassium sulfate (this amount is scattered on a square meter of land).
- During the flowering period, it is enough to scatter 1,5 tbsp. l of superphosphate per square meter.
Romano potatoes absorb a lot of nutrients from the soil. Therefore, high-quality and timely fertilizing is the key to a bountiful harvest.
Diseases and pests
The variety Romano is moderately resistant to rhizoctoniosis, but is easily affected by common scab or potato nematode.
| Signs of defeat | Methods of treatment |
Potato nematode – worms that infect the root system. The first signs of infection appear 40-50 days after planting. | The stems become weak, turn yellow prematurely. There are very few tubers or they are completely absent. The defeat occurs through the planting of diseased tubers, when potatoes are planted in infected soil. | Of the chemical special preparations, the use of Bazudin gives an excellent effect. But more important are preventive measures: pre-planting treatment of Romano potatoes with a solution of potassium permanganate; compliance with crop rotation; planting around the perimeter of tansy, asters, white mustard |
Common scab is a fungal disease that affects the peel. Leads to deterioration in quality, loss of marketable fruit, increased waste | The disease develops from the moment the potatoes bloom. Causes of appearance: infected planting material or soil. Favorable conditions for the emergence and spread – a shallow location of tubers, hot weather | First of all, you need to observe crop rotation. Trichodermin is used to treat seed and soil. |
Bushes affected by some diseases are recommended to be marked so that the tubers are not left for storage. Moreover, such potatoes cannot be used at the next planting.
Harvesting
The first root crops can be dug up in early July. But the main time of harvesting falls on the beginning of September. About a week before harvesting Romano potatoes, the tops need to be trimmed. This technique will help strengthen the peel and increase the density of tubers.
Since the skin of the Romano potato is quite dense, it should be dried for 3 to 5 days. If dry weather is established, then you can leave the crop right on the site. During the rainy season, the collected root crops are laid out under special canopies.
Romano potatoes are perfectly stored, transported and suitable for cooking various dishes. Therefore, the variety is popular with gardeners and farmers.
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