Top 20 Potato Yield-Boosting Steps: How to Boost Output, Size, and Quality
The most significant food crop is the potato, scientifically known as Solanum tuberosum. Tubers per unit area and tuber size or weight are the two key factors in potato production. Maximizing the number of tubers, preserving a leafy canopy, and increasing the size and weight of the tubers all contribute to higher yields.
Potatoes are an easy and enjoyable crop to raise, and you can eat them locally all year long because of their exceptional shelf life. In addition to picking acceptable kinds for your purposes, adopting a good growth strategy is crucial. Here are the top 20 ways to improve Potato yield.
Step 1: Important variables that affect potato crop production
Crop yield, seed age and quality, and crop management techniques all affect potato crop yields. Due to potential crop yields, the per capita consumption of potatoes has increased in emerging nations. High nutritive value and variety in cuisine
Step 2: High-yield potato cultivars
High-yielding varieties should make the greatest use of agroclimatic conditions. Among key high-yield types include Red Pontiac (RP), Purple Peru (PP), and Purple Abundance (PA). The yield per plant, shape, and texture of potatoes all vary greatly. Edible potatoes come in over 4,000 different kinds. LaChipper, Red Lasoda, White Rose, Kennebec, and Russet Norkotah are more high-yielding potatoes.
Step 3: More output depends on the soil
On most organic and mineral soils, potatoes will grow. Nevertheless, if mechanical harvesting is used, light and medium-textured soils are advised to prevent complications with harvesting in inclement weather. The pH of the soil can never be lower than 5.5. Growth is typically hindered by soil pH levels below 4.8.
Insufficient or excessive water consumption lowers productivity and encourages sickness. Potato plants need for water is influenced by the soil’s texture and moisture content.
Step 4: Reducing soil compaction will increase crop output
The subterranean shoots of potatoes are the reason they are grown. Making sure there isn’t any soil mixing is essential. The soil particles erode tightly together as it is compacted. Potato stalks cannot grow because they do not have enough room to do so in this combination. Your potatoes will grow to relatively little if your soil is compact.
Step 5: Prepare the land for more plant growth
The ground is exposed to sunshine and plowed to a depth of 24–25 cm. There should be more room for drilling and less opposition to tuber development in the soil. Well-decomposed FYM (25–30 tonnes per hectare) is incorporated into the soil during the last plowing.
Step 6: Cultivate certified seed potatoes.
When you sow potato seeds, you are planting potatoes that the plant produced the previous year. The seed contains whatever ailments or pests the mother plant may have. By using certified seeds and seed treatment of potato, you may start with potato types that are free of disease.
Step 7: Choosing the right seed tuber will increase production.
Each tuber seed should weigh 30 to 40 grams, be free of disease, and have a good sprout. It is preferable to sow with the complete seed tuber. Hill tuber seeds are scattered and planted in the late winter when the moderate temperatures prevent them from rotting. Planting tubers is the major method of growing potatoes. A successful harvest depends on healthy seed blight and clean crops. The most expensive input in potato production is the seed tuber, though. Each tuber seed should weigh 30 to 40 grams, be free of disease, and have a good sprout. For planting, it is best to utilize complete seed tubers. Mountain tuber seeds are scattered and planted in the late winter when the moderate temperatures prevent them from rotting. Cutting huge tubers is primarily done to save seed costs and ensure uniform germination. Cut shoulders lengthwise with a crown eye, and the weight of the cut portion should be between 30 and 40 grams. Before planting, seed pods are often split open with a knife and treated with a fungicide. The main problems with using seed tubers as planting material include a lack of high-quality seed producers, expensive seeds, difficult transportation of potato seeds, and viral penetration.
Step 8: Time for sowing
For optimum harvests, the appropriate planting period is crucial. Potatoes should be planted when the highest and lowest temperatures are, respectively, 30–32°C and 18–20°C. Sowing for medium-term crops should take place during the first and third weeks of October. Complete sowing from the third week of October to the first week of November in preparation for the late harvest. The optimum time to plant for the spring is on the second fifteenth of January.
Step 9: Advice for growing potato tubers in size
• Techniques for crop management to improve the size and quantity of potato tubers.
• To lengthen the growing season, plant as soon as you can.
• Planting early-blooming, physically ripe potatoes.
• To guarantee optimal crop success, use irrigation, crop nutrition, and crop protection techniques.
• Desiccation is at the ideal point to satisfy consumer demand.
• Use crop protection inputs like nematicides and pesticides to make sure the crop grows reasonably smoothly.
Step. 10: Increasing potato output with irrigation
Potato production requires irrigation because of the plant’s short, disorganized root system. Depending on the soil type and weather, gentle irrigations should be given the first 5–7 days after planting and then every 7–15 days after that. The drip irrigation method uses the least amount of water, produces the most, and is the most productive. Also, it makes it possible to employ fertilizer with irrigation water. The sprinkler system avoids damage from percolation and runoff by uniformly dispersing water.
During chilly nights, sprinkler watering is advantageous since it lessens potato damage from frost. For locations with flat terrain, sandy soils, and dryness, it is advised. When compared to furrow irrigation, sprinkler systems can boost water consumption efficiency by up to 40%.
Step 11: Managing fertilizers to promote crop growth
For the development of leaves and tubers, nitrogen is necessary. The amount of nutrients changes depending on the crop’s developmental stage. Early spring development places a strong demand on macronutrients, thus the plant must have enough nutrients on hand. For a plant to develop, create a tuber, and bulk up, it needs both potassium and nitrogen. Potato crops most frequently employ potassium, which must be combined with nitrogen in sufficient amounts to produce great potato yields. A well-rounded crop nutrition plan is necessary.
The correct mix of micronutrients must be provided even if only very tiny amounts are required since they are essential for producing good yields. Potatoes include the important micronutrients boron, copper, manganese, and zinc. To help control all of these elements, a balanced crop nutrition program that includes all macro and micronutrients is important. The quantity of micronutrients is a required result of potato cultivation. The most popular element utilized in potato crops is potassium, which must be combined with nitrogen in considerable amounts to produce great potato yields.
Throughout the growing season, potato plants need a lot of potassium, which is necessary for producing high yields. Chloride anion sensitivity exists in potatoes. Burning leaf tips and margins are a sign of chloride damage, and the leaves also become twisted and yellow. Consequently, using fertilizers devoid of chlorides will assist to increase yield and enhance quality. Although too much nitrogen might harm tuber growth, it increases the growth of plant stems and leaves.
Step 12: Seed rate to increase yield
For little tubers, use a seed rate of 8–10 quintals per acre, 10–12 quintals per acre for medium-sized tubers, and 12 quintals per acre for large tubers. To generate high-quality seeds free of disease, use complete seeds.
Step 13: Boost yield and potato tuber production
Getting the most tubers larger than 15 mm after the tuber start phase is the key difficulty for farmers. From the commencement of the tuber, the key difficulty is to enhance the reserves and acquire the best-selling tuber. Potato is a crop in need and inexpensive. At the TB stage, they require more P. To have the best yield, 50% of the phosphorus needed must be absorbed between 15 and 45 days following emergence.
Another crop with a weak root system is the potato. Phosphorus must thus be present near the roots, and the soil’s P level must be quite high. The quality of the filling will influence the number of tubers after it is determined. The nutrients N and K are now required during this stage of tuber filling.
Step 14: Variables to boost output and quadruple your income -
Many variables affect the production of potatoes. These are a few strategies for boosting yield. Maintain the quantity of Potato tubers per unit area as low as choosing tubers of higher size.
• Avoid using rotten seeds from local markets and always use certified seeds. Store your own gathered tubers to eliminate concerns about seed purity.
• Plant the seedlings in the seed plot before transferring them to the field. Another simple and efficient method is to grow potatoes on raised beds.
• Avoid planting straw, wire cylinders, or plants upside-down since they might diminish yield methods.
Step 15: Hilling enhances Potato production
You may begin hilling your potatoes after the young plants are 8 to 12 inches tall.
Using a hoe or your hands, begin covering the Potatoes in the earth, allowing at least an inch between the dirt’s surface and the plant’s leaves. A “hilling” is described as a mound of soil placed around the stems of potato plants that are in growth. There are two key advantages. First of all, since there are more stems underneath, you will obtain more stolons and more Potatoes from each plant. Second, when the tubers mature, they often poke their heads above the ground to face the sun. Thus, hilling results in improved yields by raising yields while lowering waste.
Step 16: Get rid of weeds
Keep the areas around your potato plants overgrown with weeds, especially while the plants are young. Keep the weed pressure low by over-mulching, hand-pulling, or both. Concentrate your efforts around the plant’s base and pay attention to the weeds and roots. Remove all weeds and weed roots before planting potatoes. To help lessen weed competition, plant potatoes in a different location every year.
Step 17: Increasing crop productivity using drip irrigation
To lessen the likelihood of illness and maintain robust, healthy plants, always water the roots instead than the foliage. Hand watering potatoes in arid places (or when growing them under cover) may be difficult. Water usage may be decreased and constant watering can be achieved with drip irrigation. The potato growing bed, which receives steady water from the reservoir, is another intriguing alternative. It is a method of incorporating potatoes into an aquatic or hydroponic system.
Step 18: Choose the ideal companion plant for potatoes
It is simple to raise potatoes. However, a variety of pests and illnesses can harm them. Increasing the variety of plants and animals is one of the most crucial aspects of organic farming. It can assist in maintaining the farm’s environment in balance and stop issues from getting out of hand. Planting companion plants is an essential step you can take to dramatically boost your potato production. Other veggies, flowers, and herbs are examples of companion plants for potatoes. By growing these plants alongside your potato crop, you can decrease issues and boost output.
Step 19: Maintain plants free from illnesses and pests
Preventative measures are the greatest approach to protecting your potato plants from pests and illnesses. For healthy plants and maximum harvests, keep your potato plants free of pests and illnesses. Every year, planting potatoes in a fresh location aids in preventing illnesses and bug infestations. to provide adequate airflow and cover the rows of floating fabric to shield the plants from disease and pests. Avoid soaking the leaves, which will encourage leaf diseases, while watering potatoes on a plant-by-plant basis.
Step 20: Harvesting at the right time will increase production
It feels like finding treasure when you harvest potatoes, and you can get more by using more high-yielding types and ensuring wet, weed-free soil. The potato crop is ready to be harvested when the plant leaves start to turn yellow and drop to the ground. After harvest, potatoes are left on the ground to dry in the shade. 20 to 30 tonnes of potatoes are typically produced per acre.