Senication and desiccation of potatoes: what is it, when to carry out and how to apply

Senication and desiccation are used to increase the yield of potatoes on poor-quality soil. Agricultural practices help to increase the mass of potato tubers and the quality of root crops. Potato desiccation and senication are used both on an industrial scale and in summer cottages.

Potato senication, what is it?

The procedure of senication is the treatment of tops with chemicals in preparation for harvesting. As a non-toxic chemical, a double phosphate solution or a liquid complex fertilizer is used. The main reasons for holding an agricultural reception are as follows:

Spraying plants completely stops the growth of stems, due to which the outflow of photosynthesis products from the tops to the roots is activated and they ripen more actively.
In the composition of tubers, the proportion of starch and protein increases, and the content of nitrates is reduced to a level that is safe for human he alth.
Getting a firmer skin after processing, the tubers are less damaged during harvesting and the overall yield is increased by 15-20%.
Under the influence of a chemical solution, the risk of contamination of soil and vegetation with phytophthora and rhizoctonia is reduced.
The composition of the solutions used for senicating potato crops contains biogenic elements necessary for the proper metabolism of plants.

Senication is very useful if you want to leave the crop for long-term storage. As a result of the treatment, the starch content of the tubers increases and the cork tissue thickens. The harvested crop not only receives useful macro- and microelements, but also acquires an attractive presentation.

How to senicate?

If it is necessary to quickly process a large industrial site, the aviation method is used. To work in a personal or summer cottage, a sprayer and a chemical protection suit will be enough. When spraying the tops with manual sprayers, the consumption of the working solution should be 10 liters per 50-60 m of land.

You can start senication only in the early morning or evening in warm calm weather. Processing the tops will give the greatest effect 20-25 days before harvest, when there is a period of mass flowering.

The processing method is simple - you need to pour the prepared solution into the sprayer and apply it evenly on the potato tops. If it rains immediately after treatment, the procedure should be repeated when the dew has dried.

Senication with superphosphate

Using superphosphate as a chemical agent, you must first prepare the solution. To do this, 2 kg of double phosphate is diluted with 10 liters of water and infused for a day, stirring occasionally. When the solution settles a little, the light part of the product is drained and used for spraying potato tops with a calculation of 2 liters per 100 square meters. m.

In addition, 0.1 g of herbicide should be added to each liter of water, which initiates the process of carbohydrates and nitrogenous substances leaving the leaves, and contributes to the saturation of tubers with them. A mixture of superphosphate must be prepared a day before use. During this period, all the granules will have time to dissolve and the resulting solution will receive a sufficient amount of active components.

If the procedure is performed correctly, climatic conditions and soil conditions are favorable, senication can lead to the complete death of the tops. This eliminates the need to manually remove it before harvesting root crops.

Other preparations for treatment

With the exception of superphosphate, for chemical spraying of tops, you can use complex fertilizer, which contains ammonium polyphosphate. Before use, a herbicide with a concentration of 0.01% must be added to the fertilizer. One hundred square meters of land will require 30 liters of liquid fertilizer and 10 g of herbicide.

In order to increase the yield of young potatoes, it is recommended to use a more complex solution, including superphosphate, potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Each component is required at a concentration of 2-5%. The total consumption of the working solution will be 10 liters per 60-75 meters. Processing with this solution is also carried out during the flowering period.

To increase the amount of potassium and useful nutrients in tubers, plants can be treated with ash.Beds with potatoes should be covered with a dense layer one and a half weeks after the start of the flowering phase. During the ripening period of root crops, it is possible to spray the ground parts of the crop with a concentrated solution of humate, which is used as foliar top dressing for seedlings.

Desiccation: a description of the technique

When caring for beds, experienced gardeners carry out, in addition to senication, chemical treatment, which leads to drying of the tops. The principle of action is to change the processes of metabolism and photosynthesis in stems and leaves. This makes ripening more uniform and improves the biochemical content of the crop.

When does processing apply?

Desiccation of plants is required when the crop is severely affected by late blight during the growing process. The result of spraying will be noticeable in 10-14 days - the tops will begin to dry out and crumble.It is also possible to apply an agricultural method in cases where the tops are not infected with the disease, but its abundance complicates the harvest. It is also necessary to treat the crop with desiccants if the root crops are grown in humid cool weather and with uneven ripening of crops.

How is desiccation done?

To carry out desiccation, it is enough to draw the agent into the sprayer and treat the entire surface of the tops. The work on tops processing begins a week before harvesting on food crops and 10-12 days before on seed varieties of potatoes. When processing, it is important to observe the uniformity of spraying so that all the tops are covered with a proportionate amount of the drug.

Desiccants

Common desiccants include magnesium chlorate at 60% concentration for ware potatoes (application rate per hectare - 25-30 kg), Reglon solution at a concentration of 20% for seed planting (application rate - 2 liters per hectare).Also suitable for desiccation is Harveyd 25 F, a universal preparation suitable for all varieties of potatoes. About 3 kg of Harweid will be needed per hectare of land.

Hulm removal

Pre-harvest haulm removal using non-toxic chemicals is an essential agricultural practice for any size plot. Mowing wilted tops helps to refine the soil, speed up the ripening of root crops, improve the quality of the crop, and dry the beds for the next plantings. Vegetation can also be removed before treatment with a chemical solution in the presence of tall stems.

Getting rid of excess haulm ensures good absorption of the herbicide and prevents leaf regrowth.

If the haulm is removed after desiccation, then the green vegetation will also be destroyed and its dry remains will need to be removed after a week.This is most important in the presence of thick stems that create an obstacle to potato harvesters. Timely removal of tops accelerates the growth of the peel on root crops and allows you to get enough of the maximum possible amount of vitamins and nutrients.

When removing potato tops, it is important to follow the list of rules:

It is impossible to mow and remove vegetation earlier than a week before harvesting, since prolonged exposure of tubers in the soil without outer tops can lead to infection with dangerous diseases. And a later agricultural reception, on the contrary, will not allow the peel of root crops to get stronger enough.
If the leaves were infected with late blight before processing, then they must be burned to prevent the spread of the disease.
The procedure can be performed in two successive stages - first, cut off only the upper part of the tops with the bulk of the leaves, and after a week, carry out a further cut.
It is not recommended to completely remove the stems and cut them to the level of the soil, as this will prevent visually finding the location of the fruit nests of root crops. The optimal size of cut stems is about 20-25 cm.

To harvest vegetation, you can use both manual methods and specialized equipment. Haulm harvesters equipped with cutting blades help to speed up the process. The equipment cuts off the tops, grinds them and sends them to the inner compartment. To facilitate the workflow, you can combine both methods and alternate methods, depending on the current state of the soil and vegetation.