Potato production

Climate

• Potato is sensitive to frost, optimum temperatures for growth  are 15 to 18oC with monthly means between 7 to 24oC

 Varieties

• Mondial, Sifra, Up to date and Fiana

Soils requirements

• Well drained soils, well aerated and moisture retentive with high fertility
• Sandy loam loamy soil are preferred
• High clay content causes harvesting problems
• Optimum pH 5.2 to 6.4

Planting times

Area                                      Ideal times                                   Possible times

Highveld                                July-Feb

Middleveld                            June-Feb

Lowveld                                 April-June

Seed source and selection

• Certified without growth shoots, injuries and must be firm with no shrinking
• Sprout seed before planting
• Large tuber produce more shoots, more small tubers
• More shoots lead to more tubers

Land preparation

• Plough to a depth of 30cm when planting on flat land
• Plant 25 to 30 cm high plus 90cm width when planting on beds for drainage
• Add fertilizer on the farrows and cover with soil, organic matter can also be added

Planting

• Watering before planting is recommended to keep soil moist
• Sprout seed before planting
• Make sure that eyes in the seed faces upwards at planting

• Spacing is 90-1m between rows and 25-30 between plants
• Add 2:3:4 (30) 6 x 50kg bags/ ha
• Seed rate is 60-80 of 25kg bags/ha
• Use certified seed to avoid the risk of diseases

Ridging

• The first ridging operation is performed when plants are 20 to 25 cm high and always before tuber initiation
• Ridge when tuber initiation commences
• High hilling allows tuber development without deformation in a loose soil and protects from excessive humidity
• Ridging also contributes to weed management
• High ridges provide better protection from insect pests, e.g., the potato tuber moth

Water management

• Water should be applied to the soils in light volumes to maintain crop with adequate water supply

Top dressing

• Mix 2 bags of LAN plus 4 bags KCL at 6 weeks of emergence

Pest and disease control

• Common pests: nematodes, aphids, tuber moth, cutworms and black maize beetle
• Common diseases: early blight, late blight, leaf role, mosaic, scab, soft rot, fusarium wilt, bacterial wilt, dry rot, black dot, silver scurf and black scurf
• Copper oxychloride, Diathane M45 and Bravo, every two weeks a month from planting can be used to prevent diseases
• Scouting for pests should be done every week from one month after planting
• Crop rotation can be used to avoid pests and diseases

Harvesting

• Ready for harvest after 105-150 days
• When rubbing the tuber with the thumb, the skin should adhere to the tuber
• Yield expected 20 to 30tons per hectare