Contents
In recent years, the attitude towards growing potatoes has changed somewhat compared to past times. After all, now it is easy to buy it in stores or on the market. And it is quite inexpensive. Therefore, very few want to spend a lot of time and effort, then to get a meager harvest and still buy potatoes in the market. But there are varieties that, even in unfavorable years, with minimal care, are able to give quite decent yields. And if you plant them using a variety of new technologies that make farming easier, you can get a great harvest with little or no effort. Potato Slavyanka is one of these varieties.
Variety description
The Slavyanka variety was bred in Ukraine by a group of breeders from the Kirovograd Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences using virus-free seed material. The variety was registered in the State Register of Our Country in 2009 and since then began its victorious march across Our Country. Recommendations for growing Slavyanka potatoes were limited to the Central Black Earth region, but, despite this fact, potatoes of this variety are grown in almost all regions of Our Country. Well, in Ukraine it is one of the most popular and common varieties.
Potato bushes grow quite large, spreading is average. There are not very many stems, but they branch well and are densely leafy. The leaves themselves are dark green in color, rather large, dissected, with clearly visible veins. The leaves have a barely noticeable pubescence, the edges of the leaves are slightly wavy. Potato Slavyanka blooms with small violet-blue inflorescences with white spots at the ends. The flowering itself, although plentiful, does not last very long. The number of berries produced is small.
Characteristics of a variety
The potato variety Slavyanka is late-ripening. From the time the tubers are planted in the ground until the harvest, 120-140 days can pass.
The most outstanding feature of the Slavyanka variety is its yield. According to the manufacturer, on average, you can count on 250-300 centners per hectare. The maximum yield, subject to all agronomic methods of cultivation, can be 400 centners per hectare. In addition, and importantly, the potato harvest is not strongly determined by weather conditions. Under any circumstances, the harvest will definitely be, but its amount depends on the care.
The great advantage of the variety is a high degree of crop safety. It can be stored for a long time and its taste and product characteristics do not change.
The variety is characterized by high resistance to many diseases: potato cancer, golden cyst nematode, wrinkled mosaic, leaf curl, black leg. But the resistance to late blight of the aerial parts and tubers is quite average.
Fruit Characteristics
The tubers of the Slavyanka potato variety grow very large. Small ones are almost non-existent. They are oblong-oval in shape. Purple-pink color. The characteristics of tubers are as follows.
- The weight of one tuber varies from 90 to 175 grams.
- The eyes are small and superficial, very convenient for peeling potatoes.
- The skin is smooth, thin, evenly colored.
- Creamy pulp.
- The starch content in tubers is small – from 11 to 13%.
- Taste qualities are characterized as very good.
- Marketability – 88-99%.
- Keeping quality – 95%.
- Tubers contain a large amount of B vitamins, amino acids, proteins.
Slavyanka potato tubers have a very neat, even shape, ideal for sale. The potatoes are slightly boiled soft, the tubers retain their shape after heat treatment. Due to their low starch content, this variety is ideal for making french fries and chips. It can also be used for baking and stuffing.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Slavyanka potato variety has numerous advantages that allow it to be very popular not only among ordinary gardeners, but also among farmers.
- Excellent yield;
- High palatability of tubers;
- Friendly maturation;
- Resistance to major diseases;
- Unpretentiousness to the vagaries of the weather;
- Good keeping quality;
- Good commodity qualities.
However, this variety also has a drawback – it is unstable to mechanical damage. And if the cut tubers fall into storage, they will quickly begin to rot. And since the technical conditions of harvesting do not always allow doing without mechanical damage, it is necessary to carefully sort out the tubers of this variety before storing them.
Peculiarities of growing
Variety Slavyanka has unpretentiousness, can easily adapt both to changes in weather conditions and to almost any soil. But it is an intensive type variety, therefore, in order to get record yields, it needs regular and increased top dressing.
It must be planted in warm soil with a distance between bushes of 35 cm. It is advisable to leave the row spacing at least 70-75 cm. It is ideal to use drip irrigation for irrigation, however, the Slavyanka variety is characterized by resistance to short-term drought.
Given the increased sensitivity of the variety to mechanical damage, it is necessary to dig out tubers with great care. Tubers are stored almost until spring, without losing their qualities.
Customer Reviews
Slavyanka potatoes are well-deservedly popular and evidence of this is the positive reviews and descriptions of this variety with a photo.
Conclusion
The Slavyanka variety has many fans both in Ukraine and in Our Country. And despite the many new varieties being developed, it will still be popular for a long time.
