Potato Kamensky: characteristics and description of the variety, cultivation and care with a photo

There are more than 4,000 varieties of potatoes today, and each of them is unique in its own way, has individual distinctive features and characteristics. Unfortunately, not all of them managed to prove themselves the way Kamensky potatoes did. He easily attracted the attention of a large number of novice gardeners and experienced agronomists. It would seem, what is in it? A description of the variety and all its virtues will answer this question.

Variety description

An early ripe variety was bred by Ural breeders who adapted it preferably for the West Siberian, Volga-Vyatka and Ural regions.It withstands drought well, is unpretentious in care and matures within 50-60 days. The average weight of one tuber is from 110 to 130 g; the maximum recorded weight is 180 g. There can be 15-25 tubers in one bush, thus, the yield of one hectare reaches 50-55 tons.

The size of the bushes varies from 50 to 70 cm; their leaves are of medium size, thick, with wavy edges, dark green on the outside and anthocyanin on the inside. The tubers themselves are oval-rounded, red-pink in color, with a mesh skin and small superficial eyes. The pulp is light yellow in color, crispy, with a high starch content - 16-18%.

Distinctive characteristic of the variety:

• The potato has a double skin.
• Tastes good.
• It is capable of maintaining up to 97% integrity during storage.
• Has a stable yield.
• Due to early ripeness, it begins to germinate already at a temperature of +3 °C.

Growing

The first step is to select potatoes for planting or purchase tubers or seeds. If we are talking about the first option, then the tubers are laid aside even at harvest. In this case, it is immediately clear whether the bush is affected by the disease, what is the level and quality of its yield. Having selected good specimens of medium size, without damage and rot, they are laid in a shady place.

After they dry, the seed is stored in a cellar or similar place separately from the rest of the crop.

2-3 weeks before planting, potatoes are transferred to a room with a temperature of +10-20 °C and laid in one or two layers to further prevent breakage of sprouts. While the tubers germinate, they must be sprayed with a sufficient amount of water.In the first half of May, you already need to choose a place well-lit by the sun, fertilize the soil and plant sprouted potatoes 10-15 cm deep at a distance of 30 cm between bushes and 60 between rows.

Features of care

As mentioned earlier, Kamensky potatoes are unpretentious in care and resistant to drought. To achieve good yields, timely loosening of the soil, removal of weeds as they appear, and abundant watering during the flowering period of potatoes are sufficient. But the hilling procedure will not be superfluous:

• for the first time it is carried out when the stems have just appeared, and the length of the sprouts has reached 5-10 cm;
• the second time they do it when the bushes reach a height of 30 cm.

These actions help saturate the roots of the plant with oxygen and promote the growth of new stems, which directly affects the level of yield.

Also, bushes can be fertilized with slurry, previously diluted in water with bird droppings and mineral supplements. When it comes to watering, just don't let cracked earth appear around the plant.

Pros and cons

Positive properties and features that the Kamensky potato variety has:

• Quick ripening within two months.
• The potato belongs to the elite varieties, and its palatability was rated at 4.8 points on a five-point scale.
• Soil type and weather conditions do not have a strong effect on yields.
• Kept well in the winter season.
• Due to the thick skin, the tubers safely endure long-term transportation without noticeable damage.
• He is not afraid of either the scorching sun or shady areas.

Of the shortcomings of this variety, one can distinguish the property of tubers to germinate already at a temperature of +3 °C.

Pests and diseases

What was not mentioned in the list of merits of the variety is its main distinguishing feature - absolute resistance to the attacks of the Colorado potato beetle. This is explained by the fact that the insect is simply unable to bite through the powerful shoots and hard leaves of the plant.

In addition, there is good resistance to diseases such as potato cancer, common scab, fusarium and various mosaics. But the plant already has an average resistance to late blight.

The main weakness of the variety is its vulnerability to the golden potato nematode. But here, too, there is a way to avoid crop loss. It will be enough to fertilize the soil with urea, which makes the earth an acidic and unsuitable environment for the development of the nematode, and also not to forget about the crop rotation of the site.

Harvest and storage of crops

The harvest of the Kamensky variety usually takes place on the 60th day after planting the tubers.It is desirable to do this in sunny or clear weather, when the air temperature is about +20 ° C, then the dug out potatoes can be left for some time in the fresh air so that it dries well and does not deteriorate during storage. In addition to sorting the seed, it will also be important to select the spoiled product from the rest so that only whole and he althy tubers go to storage. Store them in a well-ventilated dry room, the temperature of which does not reach +3 °C.

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