Potato Zhuravinka: characteristics and description of the variety, yield with photo

In 2005, Belarusian breeders registered Zhuravinka potatoes. The new variety turned out to be very successful, not inferior in quality and yield to many Dutch ones. Potatoes are officially approved for cultivation in the Volga-Vyatka, Central and North-Western regions.

General characteristics of the variety:

medium-late;
high marketable yield (177-242 c/ha);
medium tubers (90-140 g), oval-round, with small eyes, red;
delicious, crumbly, high in starch (14.6-19.6%);
flesh is yellowish, does not darken for a long time in the air;
suitable for making chips;
excellent keeping quality (93%);
disease resistant;
high marketability (83-96%).

In reality, this variety is successfully cultivated in most regions of the country.

Growing

People often call this potato variety Zhuravushka. Bushes rarely form fruits, so Zhuravinka is rarely cultivated from seeds.

The variety is medium late and is not suitable for growing early young potatoes in seedlings. Peculiarities of Zhuravinka cultivation are caused by increased tuber formation.

Seed material

Seed material is selected of medium size without signs of disease.Large potatoes 2-3 days before planting can be cut and dried slices. It is optimal to choose tubers weighing 80-100 g. Experienced vegetable growers mark the strongest, he althy bushes even at the growing stage and take future seed material from them.

It is useful to “green” seed tubers, for this, before storing them, they are kept open for diffused sunlight for a week.

Selected potatoes are best stored separately from other vegetables and treated with fungicides (Maxim preparation) before laying.

25-30 days before planting, the tubers are sorted and treated with a nutrient composition: 10 g of boric acid and 2 g of copper sulfate are mixed in 10 liters of water and sprayed.

Tubers are scattered in one layer in a bright and warm place. After germination, the seed is sorted out again, sifting out potatoes with weak sprouts and signs of disease.

Site preparation

Potatoes are planted in a sunny area with neutral soil saturated with humus, no more than once every 4 years. Since autumn, the entire area is fertilized with manure and dug up. In the spring, the site is again shallowly dug up, compost, biohumus, and mineral fertilizers are added to the beds. Loosening components are introduced into heavy soils: straw, sawdust, peat, sand.

If there is a possibility of infection with a potato nematode, it is useful to sow the area with winter rye in the fall, and in May dig deep all seedlings.

After harvesting potatoes, it is better to immediately sow the soil with lupins, legumes, buckwheat. In autumn, all shoots are dug up. Farmers' reviews of such a "green" fertilizer are very enthusiastic. The structure of the soil is noticeably improved, saturated with organic matter and the balance of nutrients is restored.

Many vegetable growers practice planting plants between the rows of potatoes that repel the Colorado potato beetle: beans, spinach, coriander, tansy, calendula.

Planting and hilling

The potato variety Zhuravinka is demanding on the amount of free soil for each bush. If the rows are too close together, the tubers will come to the surface due to lack of space.

Recommended pattern for this grade is 30×80. Planting dates are different for each region, ranging from late April to mid-May. It is important that young shoots do not catch the last frost.

A week after planting, the potato beds are gently plowed into shallow beds to provide enough oxygen to the tubers.

When seedlings reach 10-14 cm, the first hilling is carried out.If there are dry and hot days, a couple of days before that, the beds are watered so that the soil is soft and loose. Sprouts can be safely sprinkled with earth, leaving only the tops of the leaves. This will help the bushes to form more additional stolons, which will then be tied with tubers. After 2 weeks, hilling is repeated.

Description of the plant

Semi-erect Zhuravinka bushes usually reach a medium size (50-55 cm), have medium-sized, slightly wavy dark green leaves. A small corolla of a plant of red-violet color, rarely sets fruits. Tubers are red-pink in color with a rough skin.

Disease resistance

Description of the variety from the Belarusian originators of the potato Zhuravinka characterizes it as resistant to many common diseases:

golden cyst nematode;
common scab;
potato cancer;
black leg;
viruses X, M, S;

The variety has poor resistance to late blight of tubers and leaves, rhizoctonia, viruses L, Y.

Irrigation

Watering potatoes before the formation of tubers should be moderate. It usually rains a lot during this time. Bushes begin flowering simultaneously with the formation of tubers. From this moment, watering of Zhuravinka's potato beds is increased, soil moisture is kept in the range of 80-85%. This is a prerequisite for the normal growth of tubers.

Feeding with fertilizers

The multi-tuber variety Zhuravinka requires increased nutrition and soils saturated with organic matter, but it does not tolerate excess nitrogen very well. Root top dressing is carried out in the evening after watering before hilling and during flowering.

In 10 liters of water, dilute 1 liter of mullein or litter and add 2 tablespoons of superphosphate. 1 liter of fertilizer solution is poured under each bush.

Before flowering, it is useful to carry out foliar feeding. For this, evening spraying of the bushes is carried out with a solution of 10 liters of water and 300 g of urea. Can be replaced with infusion of 100 g of ash in a bucket of water.

Harvesting

Two weeks before the planned potato harvest, the tops are mowed and removed outside the site. The tubers during this time form a thicker and rougher skin. When harvesting, such tubers are less injured, better stored, and contact of tubers with possibly infected tops is excluded. For harvesting, it is better to choose a dry sunny day. Dug out potatoes are dried for 3-4 hours under the sun. When harvesting in rainy weather, the tubers are dried for a week under a canopy.

Storage

Before storage, all tubers are carefully sorted out. Potatoes with mechanical damage, signs of disease, too small are laid aside for quick consumption. The he althiest medium-sized tubers are selected into separate boxes for planting next season.

The rest of the potatoes are stored in a ventilated basement at a temperature of 2-3 ⁰С. Relative humidity should be 80-85%, 90-95% is better for seed material.

A month before storage, the room is treated with an antiseptic: 400 g of bleach is dissolved in 10 liters of water, settled, and structures are sprayed with a liquid without sediment.

Taste and reviews

Crane fell in love with many vegetable growers and potato lovers. The yellowish flesh has a pleasant potato sweetness, suitable for making delicious mashed potatoes and frying.The high starch content makes Zhuravinka nutritious with a rich taste. The peeled tubers do not darken for a long time in the air. In industry, this variety is used in the production of chips. Potatoes lie well and do not lose their taste during the entire storage period.

Reviews of vegetable growers about growing Zhuravinka are most often positive. The variety continues to gain popularity with each season. Vegetable growers note excellent yields, each bush consistently lays 15-20 tubers. With timely watering and top dressing, almost all potatoes reach a commercial size. Smooth oval-rounded reddish tubers have a high marketability.