SOIL SUITABILITY AND MANAGEMENT FOR POTATO

PRODUCTION

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Introduction

Potato cultivation is done under a wide range of soil types ranging from sandy loam, silt loam, loams and clay soil.

It is also grown in the red sandy or fine textured black cotton soils in the plateau region of the country.

Better tuber yields have been obtained from potatoes grown at soil reaction ranging from pH 5.0 to 7.0.

This is mainly to control the scab disease of potato.

The soils should be friable and well drained.

Better tuber yields have been obtained from potatoes grown at soil reaction ranging from pH 5.0 to 7.0.

Toxicity due to high concentrations of Al and high P fixation are reported to drastically reduce potato yield.

It is also grown in the red sandy or fine textured black cotton soils in the plateau region of the country

In most cases, three ploughings, along with frequent harrowing and rolling, are needed before the soil reaches a suitable condition: soft, well-drained and well-aerated.

Growing potatoes involves extensive ground preparation. The soil needs to be harrowed until completely free of weed roots.

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Soil management

Potatoes growing must be careful to use and manage sandy soils to maintain productivity for long term.The following are some management options which are effective in reducing wind erosion on potato lands.

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Fall Seeded Cover Crops

Cover crops provide vegetative cover in fall and early spring for soils susceptible to erosion.In a rotation which includes potatoes, small grains such as wheat, barley and rye can be seeded immediately after the potato harvest in July, August and the early part of September.Seeding small grains after September 15 will be beneficial only when the fall is long and open without a killing frost.The recommended seeding rate for small grains is a bushel per acre (65 kg/ha).To ensure that protection remains adequate, lands seeded to cover crops should not be tilled until the following spring.

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Shelterbelts

Fields in special crop rotations can benefit from shelterbelt planting. This is especially true of rotations which include low residue producing crops (edible beans, soybeans, potatoes, canola and flax).

Where row crops are included in the rotation, shelterbelts must be spaced wide enough to accommodate row crop equipment.

Spacing between trees in the belt should be 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters).

A distance of approximately 660 feet (201 m) between belts is recommended.

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Crop Residue Management Maintaining enough crop residues on the soil surface will prevent wind erosion. If the crop before potatoes is a small grain, the following practices are recommended:•The combine should have a straw and chaff spreader to distribute residue material in the field evenly. Harrows may also be necessary to help spread the straw and chaff.•Fall tillage operations should result in a 65 per cent ground cover on sandy soils before seeding.

• Plant directly into previously fall-tilled fields with a conventional or modified potato planter.

• If no fall or spring tillage is carried out, the conventional planter can be modified to plant directly into standing stubble.

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The following practices are recommended in handling potato residue.

Attaching a vine chopper to a potato harvester eliminates the need for disking to anchor vines in the fall.

The distribution of chopped residue will improve ground cover after harvest.

Also, the chopped vines will not roll up in the wind.

Anchoring the vines with a disc type implement with two-thirds of the discs removed.

This practice leaves some vegetative cover and increases the surface roughness (ridging) of the soil.

If the discs are not removed the implement should be set to anchor the vines into the soil rather than tilling the soil and burying the residue.