No wonder potatoes are called second bread, because it is difficult to meet a person who does not eat it at least several times a week. That is why most farmers and summer residents with the advent of spring begin to prepare for planting their favorite tuber. Scientists-breeders have bred many varieties of potatoes, today we will focus on a productive and unpretentious variety of Seagull.

History of Variety Breeding

Potato Chaika was hatched at the breeding station in the village of Falenki, Kirov Region, Russia. The variety is the fruit of hybrid breeding and is obtained by crossing two popular potato varieties - Kingston and Shurminsky 2. After state tests in 2005, Seagull was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation and allowed to regionalize in many regions of Russia, mainly in the Volga-Vyatka and North-West regions. In addition, the variety is perfect for growing in Ukraine and Moldova, thanks to the warm climate.

Did you know? To accustom the French to potatoes, the agronomist Antoine-Auguste Parmentier came up with the idea of ​​arranging an enhanced guard near the potato field. At night, when there was no protection, the intrigued local residents began to steal and try unknown fruits.

Grade characteristics

The height of the potato bushes Seagull is medium or high. The type of growth is erect, that is, for some time the stem grows vertically until it starts to lean down under its own weight. The plant is distinguished by large leaves of a deep green color. During flowering, Seagulls are covered with medium-sized, white flowers. Each variety bush brings 6–11 potato tubers.Fruits have a round-oval shape, their peel is smooth, yellowish, with medium and medium-deep eyes. The flesh of the potato is dense, creamy, with excellent taste. Contains 12–15% starch. The weight of mature tubers of the variety Chaika is usually in the range of 70–125 g.

Productivity

The variety is characterized by good productivity - 242–414 kg / ha (2.42–4.14 kg / m²). The maximum value of the collection of tubers recorded in the variety Chaika was 454 c / ha.

Important! According to popular beliefs, the period of planting potatoes coincides with the beginning of flowering bird cherry or the appearance of leaves on a birch.

Ripening time

The variety is mid-late, as its vegetation period is 120 days. Thus, when planting in May, harvesting can be planned for early September.

Resistance to disease

The variety is resistant to viral diseases of the culture and potato cancer. However, it is more susceptible to late blight than many other hybrids. Also, sometimes, plants are affected by scab.

Advantages and disadvantages

• Most farmers and gardeners who cultivate Seagull note the following positive points:
• high productivity;
• unpretentiousness of a grade;
• good tuber shelf life;
• pleasant taste of potatoes;
• ease of care for the crop.

• Of the shortcomings noted:
• the need for protection against pests and diseases, as well as the likelihood of developing tubers of an irregular shape.

Planting and growing potatoes

Before planting this crop, you should choose the right site and prepare the planting material.

Optimal landing times

Potatoes should be planted in warm, well-warmed soil. Therefore, if night frosts still occur in your area, you should wait a bit. If you put the Seagull in cold soil, the tubers will "sit" in the ground for a long time. Do not plant seeds in too wet soil, this can lead to rotting. Overexposure of planting material is also dangerous, the soil may become too warm and dry, which will increase the likelihood of a low yield.Usually, the seagull variety is planted in May

The main signs of readiness for this event:

• no return frosts;
• weather forecast shows the future warm period;
• the earth at a depth of 10-12 cm warmed up to + 8 ° C.

Crop rotation rules

Potatoes can grow on one site for no more than 3 years. Its feature is that the tuber absorbs a large amount of potassium and phosphorus from the soil, therefore, after harvesting, appropriate mineral fertilizers should be introduced into the ground. And it is imperative to remove plant debris so that they do not become a cause of infection of the soil and other crops with various pathogens. If it is not possible to change the place of planting, measures should be taken to disinfect and restore soil fertility.

These include:

• sowing of early ripe green manure with subsequent incorporation into the soil;
• deep digging of a site after harvesting with a full turn of a layer;
• spring digging with the introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers;
• introducing ash into the soil for disinfection and enhancing crop growth.

After the potato, you should not plant other solanaceous ones - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, as well as strawberries and strawberries. But on this site zucchini, legumes, pumpkin, cabbage, cucumbers, onions and garlic will feel good. If the former potato plot is planted with oats, rye or lupine, then these plants will restore the lost balance of nutrients.It is very important to consider which plants are nearby. Experience has shown that potatoes are “friends” with eggplant, corn, cabbage, onions, horseradish and spinach. Beans will be a great neighbor, which will “treat” them with nitrogen and protect them from the Colorado potato beetle. But cucumbers, tomatoes and pumpkin do not respond very well to the neighborhood with this crop.

Soil requirements

In the place chosen for planting potatoes, there should be fertile light soils with good permeability. The most suitable are chernozem, sod-podzolic soils and cultivated peatlands. It is optimal if the soils are slightly acidic.

Important! Heavy and clay soil is poorly suited for potatoes. The plants in it develop slowly, and the potatoes grow small and irregular in shape.

Preparing planting material

Correct and timely preparation of planting material will launch in the tubers biological processes associated with the formation of sprouts and the development of the root system. In addition, sick or weak specimens are removed during the preparation phase. Preparation for the landing should begin about a month before the event itself. For this, tubers should be transferred from the storage place (basement or cellar) to a warmer and more lighted room, put in 1-2 layers on the floor or in any container.The optimum temperature regime is +18 ... + 20 ° С in the first 10–12 days for awakening the eyes and +10 ... + 14 ° С - further so that the sprouts do not outgrow and do not stretch too much. The purpose of germination is to obtain tubers with strong, healthy shoots that will accelerate the emergence of seedlings and, accordingly, improve yield. Germination duration, on average, is 20–40 days. If for some reason there was no time to prepare the tubers, you can warm the planting material at least 3-4 days before planting. This will "wake up" the seed material.

Did you know? Before the appearance of potatoes in Russia, the main vegetables in the diet were turnips and rutabaga. However, people gradually appreciated the new product, especially since up to a dozen new potatoes can be grown from one tuber.

Landing technology

Step-by-step instructions for planting potatoes Seagull:

1. On the selected site, pre-mark the furrows (rows) in increments of 70 cm.
2. Prepare the holes so that the distance between them in a row is 30–35 cm.
3. In each hole, place one tuber with a sprouted sprout up to a depth of 8-10 cm.
4. Add a handful of compost or fertilizer (urea, nitrate) to the hole.
5. Cover the pits with earth, level the area with a rake.

Video: planting potatoes

In addition to manual landing, you can use the help of a walk-behind tractor - which is especially true for industrial landings. Some proponents of mechanical planting believe that it increases productivity, as the cultivator loosens the soil better.

Potato care after planting

Watering the Seagull should be in the morning or evening. This event should not be carried out too often, focusing on the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air. As a result, the soil in the area should be moist, but not too wet or dry. The root system of potatoes, in comparison with other crops, especially needs air.Therefore, after each watering, it should be loosened. In hard or flooded soil, tubers will begin to “suffocate”. The first loosening of the soil is carried out on the 5-6th day after planting, even before the appearance of the first seedlings. At the same time, weeds are destroyed so that they do not have time to take root.

The first time you need to spud potatoes when the height of the plants has reached 12–15 cm. The spudding is carried out after watering, at the end of the bed they are irrigated again. The next hilling is approximately 3 weeks after the first manipulation.

Potato necessarily needs additional top dressing. It is introduced in several stages:

• in the fall, after harvesting - phosphorus and potash fertilizers;
• in spring, during planting - organic top dressing;
• in the spring, during the period of germination of bushes - nitrogen fertilizers;
• during active vegetation - complex fertilizer compounds.

An important step in caring for plants is the control of diseases and pests. The most common pests of a variety are Colorado potato beetle and golden potato cyst-forming nematode. Therefore, when planting the Seagull variety, care should be taken about standard preventive measures. To get rid of nematodes, you should regularly loosen the earth around the plants. Effective systemic drugs (“Masterpiece”, “Prestige”) or safer biological ones (“Bitoxibacillin” and others) help well from the Colorado potato beetle.Treatment with fungicide will help get rid of scab, and from late blight - spraying with an aqueous solution of copper sulfate

Harvesting and storage

The first potato can be harvested in July, when the bushes have bloomed, and the leaves began to fade slightly. To begin with, you can dig out one bush and, if the tubers have reached a size of 3 cm, young potatoes can already be tasted. However the full variety will ripen only by September, when the main harvest is carried out. When harvesting, each bush is neatly dug up with a pitchfork on the side, then pulled out by the tops, the tubers are removed and stacked in a bucket or other container.

Before laying for storage, the fruits are removed, bad or rotten ones are removed, and too small and with mechanical damage are put aside for quick use. Planting material for the next season is also sorted separately.

Typically, potatoes are stored in clean wooden crates, in a dry, dark and cool room - a cellar, basement or pit. In order for air to circulate freely, the container must be placed on supports and not lean against the wall tightly. The optimum storage temperature is + 2 ... + 4 ° C. Due to the highest level of keeping quality - up to 92% - the variety is ideal for creating reserves for the winter. Despite this, it is worth checking the vegetables periodically (once every 3-4 weeks), discarding rotten specimens.The Seagull variety deservedly gained great popularity in our country. He not only pleases with his unpretentiousness and productivity, but also with fragrant tasty potato dishes - mashed potatoes, casseroles, chips and many others.