Description of Potato Lemon

Potato Limonka is considered one of the best types of nightshade crops. It has excellent taste, boils well. The variety is classified as medium-late. The first fruits can be eaten 70 days after the appearance of the first sprouts, the crop is ready for storage in 100-120 days.

Description of potatoes Lemon

Characteristics of the plant

Potato variety Limonka came to us from Holland, where breeders called it Picasso. The name was given for a reason. The description of the potato usually begins with its unusual color. The tubers are painted yellow with pink spots, which resembles the artist’s bizarre work.

Description of the potato Lemon:

• bush tall, sprawling, with a powerful stem;
• leaves are dark green, medium size;
• inflorescences are white;
• root vegetables can be collected from one bush of various sizes;

Description of the fruit

Pear-shaped fruits. The peel is painted in a light brown or yellow shade with pink spots. On the cut, the flesh is lemon-yellow.

In a too dry climate, the fruits acquire a pungent flavor.Subject to all agrotechnical rules, root crops have a pleasant sweetish taste, they are well boiled during heat treatment. Potato Lemon is used to prepare all kinds of dishes; on an industrial scale, chips are prepared from it.

Root crops do not ripen at the same time. The weight of the tuber on average is 100-120 g. From 1 hundred parts, you can collect up to 300 kg of root crops. The starch content is reduced, so the root crops are perfectly stored.

Benefits

Potato Limonka is well adapted in any type of soil, but requires a lot of fertilizer. Due to its low starch content, potatoes are perfectly stored, resistant to mechanical damage, and therefore can be transported over long distances. One of the main advantages is excellent taste characteristics.

The variety is classified as medium-late, so it tolerates temperature extremes. Potato Lemon is medium resistant to disease, often exposed to late blight. In addition, it is susceptible to foliage virus.

Cultivation

Potato cultivar Lemon is recommended to be planted in open, not blown areas. All types of nightshade are photophilous plants, therefore, they give a good harvest only when the bushes are evenly lit from all sides. The ground part of the plant is tall, spreading, respectively, the step with honey holes should be done more than for other varieties, about 45-50 cm.

You can grow a variety of potatoes Limonka on any type of soil. The plant responds well to regular fertilizing and loosening the soil. To prevent the occurrence of late blight, it is recommended to follow the rules of crop rotation, that is, do not plant potatoes in the same place for several years in a row, as well as after tomatoes, eggplant, pepper and beets.

Soil preparation

It is advisable to enrich the soil before planting

In the area where potato planting is planned, it is advisable to plant siderata plants or to add herbicides. In autumn, the soil is dug up to a depth of 30-40 cm and organic fertilizers are applied. As fertilizers in the fall, compost, superphosphates, and mineral compounds are used. If the soil is acidic, dolomite flour is added during this period to ensure a neutral reaction.

In spring, just before planting, the area should be re-excavated and organics added. It is not recommended to use fresh manure, otherwise the taste of potatoes will suffer. It is important to remember that the cultivation of the soil should be carried out immediately before planting, otherwise drying of the top layer is possible and then the sprouts will develop poorly. Fluorine-containing and potassium compounds are used as fertilizer.

Seed preparation

Only smooth tubers are taken for planting, without visible damage and rot.After harvesting, the seed should be greened to protect it from rodents. For about a week, tubers should be left in a warm, bright room, it takes so much time for landscaping. Then the seed potatoes are harvested for the winter in the vegetable store.

In the spring, about a month before planting, the seed should be removed, treated with a solution of manganese or another disinfectant, and sprouted. Germination will take about 4 weeks. For this, potatoes are left in a dark room at a temperature of 18-20 ℃. After the allotted time, the potatoes must be sorted and discarded not sprouted.

Planting

Plant the potatoes when the soil warms up at 4-8 ℃, in early May. Landing is carried out in a standard way under a shovel. The distance between the holes is 50 cm, between the rows 70. This will provide good conditions for the full development of sprawling, tall bushes.

Onion husks are placed in each hole to protect the plantings from the attack of the wireworm. In addition, potatoes are dusted with ash before planting. It is rich in potassium, which plays an important role in the early stages of plant development.

Planting depth will depend on soil density. On light soils, it is customary to plant potatoes to a depth of 10-12 cm, on heavy – 5 cm.

Care

Plants need fertilize regularly

Potato variety Limonka is considered drought tolerant, but in too hot conditions the yield is much lower. If there is not much rainfall, then watering is carried out every 10 days. The ideal option is a drip system, it will save water resources and provide the root system with sufficient moisture. If irrigation is carried out in a standard way, water is poured between the rows into the furrows formed after hilling.

Stop watering the bushes 20-30 days before harvesting. One of the main conditions for obtaining a good harvest is the timely application of fertilizing. In addition, the variety responds well to weeding and hilling. The plant begins to bloom just at the moment of phytophthora progression, therefore it is advisable to carry out preventive treatment even at the time of the appearance of sprouts 20-30 cm before flowering. Also, for the prevention of late blight, they practice removing the lower leaves and shoots when the weather is too wet.

Hilling and weeding

The first time the plantings should be weeded after 2 weeks. Cultivation is done between rows to a depth of 10 cm, simultaneously removing weeds. When the shoots are strong enough and reach 15 cm, the first hilling is carried out.

21 days after the first hilling, the second is carried out.Loosening is recommended after every rain and watering in order to avoid the formation of a hard crust on the soil surface, which will interfere with normal air circulation. To preserve moisture in the soil in the southern regions, grass mulching is practiced.

Feeding

Characteristics of potato quality indicators will improve significantly if all the requirements for fertilizing are met. In addition to fertilizing during the autumn tillage and planting, the plant will need to be fed 3 times during the whole season.

Fertilizer application:

• when the sprouts reach 15 cm, before the first hilling , make urea;
• at the time of budding make a solution of ash or potassium compounds;
• the last time during the flowering period make nitrophosphates with chicken droppings or cow dung.

Top dressing is applied in liquid form, directly under the bushes. One month before the harvest, fertilizer is stopped. Fertilizers should not be abused, especially dung, otherwise the taste of the potato will be much worse.

Diseases

The culture is resistant to nematode attacks. It has good immunity to:

• scab;
• potato cancer;
• fusarium and some viral diseases.

Unfortunately, a type of potato that has not been attacked by the Colorado potato beetle, as well as fungal diseases, has not yet been bred.The culture is resistant to late blight of tubers, but the terrestrial part of this disease suffers very often. In areas infected with late blight, productivity is reduced by 70%. At the first symptoms of the disease, immediately remove the affected parts of the plant and burn them. As a prophylactic, you can use Phytosporin, Bordeaux liquid 1% or Ziram solution.

The plant often suffers from the leaf curl virus. Most often, infection occurs during planting through the seed, so all tubers must undergo pre-treatment. In addition, viral diseases often carry pests. Unfortunately, there is no cure for potato viruses, so prophylaxis must be done in a timely manner. Its excellent taste and high productivity do not leave indifferent any potato grower. Among the advantages, gardeners note high resistance to many diseases, good keeping quality and the ability to transport root crops over long distances.

The species is resistant to temperature extremes and unpretentious to the composition of the soil, so it can be planted in any region. Potatoes of this variety are demanding on fertilizing, as well as watering. In arid climates, the quality and quantity of the crop decreases.