It’s hard to find someone who wouldn’t like potato dishes. Therefore, almost all gardeners and farmers grow its various varieties. Some focus on early and mid-ripening varieties, while others prefer late-ripening vegetables. One of the most beloved consumers of medium-late varieties is Asterix potatoes. A large set of positive qualities made it universal when compared with other species that are grown in different regions of the country.
The average yield of Asterix potatoes is usually about 200c / ha. The maximum yield of up to 275c / ha, according to experienced potato growers, can be achieved by fulfilling all the requirements for care.
Asterix is a potato whose characteristic will not be complete, if not to say that ripe tubers are excellent stored at about 7 ° C. Until the new harvest, they do not lose weight, remain elastic and retain their taste.
Asterix potato cultivar can be cultivated in the Central regions, on the fields of the Middle Volga region and the Far East.This is especially valuable because not many varieties are suitable for growing in these places.
Advantages of potatoes
Some positive features of this vegetable can be noted:
- From the appearance of seedlings and it takes 4 months to harvest.
- The tuber yield is high.
- The taste is excellent.
- The marketability of the products is 90%.
- It is well preserved and tolerates transportation.
Some varieties of potatoes can darken when they cut tubers for cooking main dishes or pancakes. This potato is free from such a flaw. The dishes are obtained in a beautiful color, delicate texture.
The Asterix potato variety is immune to many viruses, including:
- cancer;
- late blight on stems and tubers;
- phomosis and leaf curl.
It also does not respond to the presence of a golden cyst-forming nematode in the soil that parasitizes the roots of nightshade crops.
When fertilizing plots, pay attention to organic matter. Using manure, you can increase productivity by 50%. It is advisable to add superphosphate to the soil.
Disadvantages of the variety
The main disadvantage is that these vegetables require increased attention when growing. But gardeners, confident that they will cope with all the problems, easily get quality products.
The main enemy of this potato is the Y virus.From him, the plant does not have immunity. If the plantings are infected, then nothing will save them.
The best means of struggle is prevention. In order to prevent infection, it is necessary to treat young plants with insecticides. After all, it is aphids and cicadas that transmit the virus. By destroying these pests, you can protect the potatoes.
Description of the bush
High erect stems of the ribbed plant. They are well leafy, but foliage may crumble at the bottom if the bushes are poorly lit. The leaves are large, open type, without waviness along the edge. Their color is dark green.
The bush has a dark green color
Flowers are collected in apical simple inflorescences. Petals fused at the base, painted in red and purple tones. Pollinated naturally, but few berries are knotted, and even they can fall.
Description of tubers
The starch content of tubers is 17%, which makes it possible to prepare various dishes. Vegetables keep their shape well when cooked. On an industrial scale, it is from this variety that chips are most often produced. The potato is called chips because it has such a special feature.
The tubers are beautiful red.
Their shape is elongated, oval, slightly elongated. The peel is smooth and small eyes are visible on it.The potato is resistant to mechanical damage such as compression or shock during transport. It does not lose its shape and does not darken if the peel receives abrasions.
Asterix is a variety of potatoes whose description can be ended with the mass of its tubers ranging from 70g to 120g. When cut, the flesh is saturated yellow. Starchiness is clearly visible in the form of a matte coating.
Preparing seed potatoes
When harvesting, you need to sort the crop immediately. Select seed potatoes and tubers for storage. Medium-sized potatoes are suitable for planting.
In the spring, a month before planting, it needs to be germinated and planted. For this, tubers are brought into a room with a temperature of at least 10 ° C and laid out in 2 layers in boxes. The crates are placed so that solanine is formed in the tubers, a poisonous substance that can kill insects the first time after planting potatoes.
With an eye height of about 2 cm, you can process potatoes with Prestige and plant them.
Preparing the soil
The soil must be fertilized with humus in the fall: 40 buckets per hundredth. You can add complex mineral fertilizers to it. The main thing is that the nitrogen content is not large. With its excess, plants can die.
Ridges form at a distance of 60cm from one another and orient them from south to north. With this arrangement, the bushes will be well and evenly lit all day.This promotes the formation of chlorophyll and helps the plant to fully eat.
25 cm should be left between the planting pits. In each well put 1 tsp. potassium salt, and phosphates. A handful of ash will protect the tubers from late blight, and a handful of onion husks from small insects and wireworms.
Care for plants
After planting the tubers, wait for seedlings and proceed to the first hilling. It is necessary in case of frost on the soil. In the process of growth, other measures are taken, such as:
- watering;
- hilling;
- weeding and loosening;
- fertilizer;
- insect control.
Watering the planting should be done at least 3 times in arid regions. When watering, fertilizers are applied, both mineral and organic.
Fresh manure should not be used. It must first be prepared in order not to burn the plants. Take a container, which 1: 1 is filled with organic and water. The mixture is left to ferment for 2 weeks. Then they dilute 1:10 with water and water the soil. After watering or rain, the earth must be loosened.
The characteristic says that insect control comes down to collecting and Mago Colorado potato beetle and insecticides from aphids, beetle larvae and cicadas. Actara, Ratibor and other drugs are used, the recipes for their preparation are always on the packaging.
Conclusion
Experienced potato growers and gardeners with little experience can grow Asterix potatoes. The description tells in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of the variety. When working, you need to follow the recommendations, timely feed and prevent from diseases. Your work will help to get high-quality and large-scale harvest of environmentally friendly products.And hundreds of recipes will provide a huge selection of dishes that will decorate the table, will delight you with a delicate aroma and great taste.
