Potato Area Under Cultivation Potato is grown almost in all states of India. However, the major potato rowing states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam.
Botanical Name : Solanum tuberosum Family : Solanaceae Plant Discription : It is a much branched bushy herb, usually 0.5 to 1m in height possesing underground stems bearing the edible tubers. The leaves are odd pinate with a large terminal leaflet. It flowers in cymose panicles.
Centre of origin : South America Pollination system : Cross pollinated Chromosome no : 2n=48 Nutritional Levels : Moisture (%)
Protein (%)
Fat (%)
Mineral matter (%)
Fibre (%)
Carbohydrate (%)
Calories (K Cal)
74.7
1.6
0.1
0.6
0.4
22.6
97
Phosphorus (mg/100g)
Potassium (mg/100g)
Calcium (mg/100g)
Magnesium (mg/100g)
Iron (mg/100g)
Sodium (mg/100g)
Copper (mg/100g)
40
247
10
30
0.48
11
0.16
Manganese (mg/100g)
Zinc (mg/100g)
Sulphur (mg/100g)
Chlorine (mg/100g)
Molybdium (mg/100g)
Cromium (mg/100g)
0.13
0.53
37
16
0.07
0.007
Carotene (mg/100g)
Thiamine (mg/100g)
Riboflavin (mg/100g)
Niacin (mg/100g)
Vitamin C (mg/100g)
Choline (mg/100g)
Folic acid-Free (mg/100g)
24
0.1
0.01
1.2
17
100
3
Minerals
Vitamins
Folic acid- Total (mg/100g) 7
Potato Diseases Wart (Synchytrium endobioticum): It is one of the most dreaded diseases of potato. The most favourable conditions for the development of the disease are periodic flooding followed by lack of proper drainage and aeration. The disease is characterised by 'cauliflower-like' warty growths on tubers, stolons and stem bases but not roots. Under wet conditions, it may be seen in the form of greenish-yellow crust on the stems and leaves at or near the soil level. All the tubers on diseased plant do not necessarily develop warts. Diseased tubers may show formation of either one or more tumours. Such tubers sometimes are completely transformed into warty mass. The tumors may turn brown to black with age. Control: Wart affected tubers used as seed are the chief means of the disease spread. The disease may also spread through seed of wart immune varieties grown in wart infested land, contaminated soil carried on the feet of men, animals or farm implements, and manure containing diseased material. Control of the disease is possible only by cultivation of immune varieties. No effective treatments are available and cannot be applied on large field scale. However preventive measures like practicing long crop rotation (5 years or more), using disease free potatoes as seed material and burning of wart affected lumps and potato peelings are effective in checking the spread of the disease.
Soft Rot (Erwinia. carotovora subsp carotovora): This disease causes very high losses in storage. Excessive moisture, high temperature excess nitrogen, tuber injuries and poor ventilation during storage are the important factors helping in disease development. Initially a small area of tuber tissue around lenticel or stolon attachment point becomes water soaked and soft. Under low humidity, the initial soft rot lesions become dark and sunken. Under high humidity, the lesion may enlarge and spread to larger area. Tubers in advanced stages of decay are usually invaded by other organisms and the decaying tissue becomes slimy with foul smell and brown liquid ooze. The tuber skin remains intact and sometimes the rotted tubers are swollen due to gas formation. At harvest, many small rotted tubers with intact skin can be seen. The infected seed tubers rot before emergence resulting in gaps. The symptoms appear as water soaked lesions on the stem, leaves and petioles. The affected parts turn black and rot leading to toppling of the stem and leaves. Control: In the field, avoiding excess irrigation and nitrogen, providing proper and drainage prevents the spread of the disease. Cultural methods such as adjust planting time to avoid hot weather during plant emergence and O harvesting the crop before soil temperature rises above 28 C is recommended. The crop should be harvested only when the tuber skin is fully cured. Care should be taken to avoid injury to tubers and bruised injured tubers are sorted out. Treating the tubers with 3% boric acid for 30 min and drying them under shade minimizes infection in the storage. The treated tubers should be stored in either in wellventilated cool stores or cold stores.
Charcoal Rot (Macrophomina phaseolina): The diseases infects the tubers in the soil through proliferated lenticels and injuries, Black spots appear around the lenticels and eyes which enlarge into patches extending deep into the tuber flesh. The pathogen infects through lenticels, eyes, stolons and wounds made by larvae of the tuber moth to cause black sunken lesions and later blackening of internal tissues. Control: Harvesting the crop early before the soil temperature reaches 28OC can check the disease.
Bacterial Wilt or Brown Rot (Pseudomonas solanacearum): Brown rot or bacterial wilt is a destructive disease of the potato. It causes losses in two ways: (i) premature wilting and death of the plants leading to total loss of yield, and (ii) rotting of the tubers in transit or storage. The earliest symptom is slight wilting of the top, which is soon followed, by total wilting. In advanced stage, if the base of the stem of the affected plants is cut transversely and squeezed, the bacterial mass is seen to ooze out as a dull white slimy mass on the cut surface. Two types of symptoms are produced in tubers, viz. vascular rot and pitted lesions. In vascular rot, the vascular tissues look like a water soaked circle, which subsequently may turn brown. The lesions on tuber are produced due to infection through lenticels (skin pores). Initially water soaked spots develop which enlarge forming pitted lesions. Control: The infected seed tubers including apparently healthy seed tubers from diseased crop are important in spread and carry over of the disease. Hence, disease free seed tubers obtained from disease free areas should be used for planting. Splitting of the tubers at the time of the planting should be avoided as splitting spreads the disease even to health tubers. Application of stable bleaching powder (12kg/ha) mixed with fertilizer in furrows while planting reduces wilt incidence by 80%. Practicing crop rotation for 2-3 years with crops like maize, finger millet, cereals, garlic, lupin, and onion cabbage can reduce the disease inoculum.
Black Scurf and Stem Canker (Rhizoctonia solani): The disease commonly affects the tubers, sprouts, stems and stolons. The most common symptom is black scurf comprising of dark brown to black irregular lumps sticking on the surface of tubers. These irregular lumps are closely adhered to the tuber surface and do not wash off easily. Other symptoms on the tuber include skin cracks, crater like depressions, pitting, stem-end necrosis and shape deformity. The disease often causes sprout injury both in storage and in fields after planting. The affected sprouts show discoloration of tissue. The heavily infected sprouts cannot emerge from soil leading to gappy germination. The emerging sprouts when infected later develop cankers causing girdling of stem bases. Such affected plants show upward rolling of leaves with pinkish or purplish margin. Often small green or
reddish aerial tubers are also formed in the axils. The infection also spreads to roots and developing stolons resulting in rotting of cortical tissues. Such infected roots later shed away hence infected plants have poor root system. Infected stolons give rise to deformed tubers. Control: Combination of tuber disinfection and improved cultural practices successfully checks the incidence and severity of black scurf. In the hills tuber treatment with an organomercurial compound & soil application of PCNB @ 30kg/ha is most effective. In the North India plains, treatment of the diseased seed with Thiabendazole, TBZ + 8 Hydroxyquinoline, acetic acid +zinc Sulphate, Carbendazim and Boric Acid effectively controls the disease. The progeny tubers of such treated seeds are usually free from black scurf. A continuous use of treated seed for 2-3 crop seasons is found to completely check the disease. Crop rotation with maize or 'dhaincha' (Sesbania aegyptiaca) for green manure also checks the disease build up.
Common Scab (Streptomyces spp.): The disease does not cause yield losses but disfigures the tubers, thereby reducing the market value and increasing peeling losses. The disease mainly affects potato tubers causing any of the following symptoms viz., mere abrasion of skin (russetting); corky lesions around lenticels which may be star shaped or irregularly circular; irregular concentric corky rings around lenticels; raised rough corky pustules and 3-4 mm deep pits surrounded by hard corky tissues. In case of severe attack, dark brown lesions may develop on roots and stolons. Control: The pathogen is difficult to control because of long survival both on seed tubers and in soils. However using disease free seed tubers could minimize the disease incidence. Before planting the seed tubers are treated with organomercurial compounds (0.015%for 20 minutes) or Boric Acid (3% for 30 minutes) and dries in shade. The same treatment is repeated before the storage of the tubers. Maintaining high moisture in ridge atleast for a few weeks during the initial tuber formation phase crates adverse conditions for the development of the disease. Following crop rotations with wheat, pea, oats, barley, lupin, soybean, sorghum and bajra checks the disease development.
Dry Rot (Fusarium spp.): The dry rot is an important disease of storage. The skin of the dry rot infected tubers first becomes brown then turns darker and develops wrinkles. These wrinkles are often arranged in irregular concentric circles. In the later stage of infection, a hole may be observed in the center of the concentric ring with whitish or pinkish growth of fungal mycelium. On cutting these affected tubers, whitish or brownish tissues are seen with one or more cavities. Eventually the infected tubers loose water and become dry, hard and shriveled. Control: Use only clean and healthy seed tubers for planting and tuber washing followed by drying under shade substantially reduces the infection. Dipping the tubers in organomercurial compounds (0.2%) for 30 minutes is effective. Tuber damage and injury must be avoided during harvest and storage. Tubers should be stored in cold stores in plains. In country stores, tubers must be examined periodically and rotting tubers sorted out. If possible, splitting of seed during planting should be
avoided. Otherwise seed pieces may be treated with Mancozeb (1kg in 450 litres water) for 10 minutes and dried for 24-48 hrs before planting.
Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans): The disease affects all plant parts, viz., leaves, stems and tubers. It appears on leaves as small pale green spots, which enlarge into large water soaked lesions. A white mildew (cottony growth) ring forms around the dead areas on the lower side of leaves. In dry weather, water soaked areas turn necrotic brown. On stems, light brown elongated lesions are formed which may encircle the stem. Tubers develop reddish brown, shallow to deep, dry rot lesions. The affected tuber flesh becomes 'caramalised' with a sugary texture. Frequently metallic tinge develops on the margins of the affected tissue. Tubers carrying the pathogen are the real carriers and serve as the source of the disease in the subsequent season. Infected seed tubers grow into healthy plants but under favourable conditions for O the disease (10-12 C and RH > 80%) development, the disease infects the stem and lower leaves. Control: Seed potatoes should be checked thoroughly before storage. All blighted tubers must be removed and buried deep in the soil. Ridges should be made high enough to cover all daughter tubers and reduce chance of their infection upon exposure. If the weather conditions (temperature 10-20OC, RH>80%) are favourable for the disease development irrigation should be stopped immediately. If essential only light irrigation is given. When the disease affects 75% crop foliage, the haulms should be cut, removed from the field, and buried deep. Protective sprays with a contact fungicide, viz., Mancozeb (0.2%) before appearance of the disease is effective. Subsequent sprays if necessary should be repeated at 8 to 10 days interval. In case of severe blight attack, one or two sprays of Metalaxyl (0.25 %) are given to check the further spread of the disease. Mancozeb is applied at an interval of 15 days after the Metalaxyl application.
Early blight (Alternarial solani): The disease mainly infects leaves and tubers. Initially the symptoms occur on the lower and older leaves in the form of small (1-2 mm) circular to oval brown spots. These lesions have the tendency to become large and angular at later stage. Mature lesions on foliage look dry and papery, and often have the concentric rings, looking like bulls eye. The symptoms on the tuber comprise of brown, circular to irregular and depressed lesions with underneath flesh turning dry, brown and corky. Lesions tend to enlarge during storage and affected tubers later become shriveled. Control: Use of disease free seed tubers for raising the crop. The crop must be given balanced doses of fertilizers, especially nitrogen. Spraying the crop with urea (1.0%) at 45 days after sowing and giving subsequent sprays 8-10 days after the first spray helps the crop to easily escape the severe onslaught of early blight disease. In the hilly regions, spraying of Copper Oxychloride (0.30%) and Bordeaux mixture (1.0%), is
recommended for control of early blight disease. Solanaceous crops, which act as the collateral hosts for the disease organism, hence their cultivation nearby potato fields, must be avoided.
Potato Leafroll Virus (PLRV): The PLRV invokes primary or secondary types of symptoms in plants depending upon the age of infection. The primary symptoms develop during the crop growth. These symptoms are confined to top young leaves, which usually stand upright, roll and turn slightly pale. The secondary symptoms of PLRV develop when plants are grown from infected seed tubers. Such symptoms are rather prominent in older leaves. Infected plants have characteristic pale, stunted and upright appearance with rolling of lower leaves that turn yellow, brittle and are leathery in texture. Control: The disease is managed by using virus-free seed potatoes. Multiplying virus-free seed in aphid free areas. Population of aphid vectors is controlled by application of suitable contact/systemic insecticides.
Potato Mosaics Potato mosaics mostly invoke inter-veinal and veinal chlorosis, mild mottling and slight crinkling of leaves. Top necrosis occurs in immune varieties while others express light yellowing of the leaf margins or shiny yellow mottle of the entire leaf lamina. The potato plant is also affected by a severe
Potato Harvesting The time of harvest is very important in potato. The development of tuber continues till vines die. The main crop is ready for harvest within 75-120 days of planting depending upon the area, soil type and variety sown. In the hills, the crop should be normally harvested when the soil is not very wet. Tubers lifted during the monsoon have a poor keeping quality and also develop various types of rots. The main crop is ready for harvest when majority of the leaves turn yellow-brown. At this stage, the tops are cut near the ground level. The potatoes are dug out from the field by ploughing after 8-10 days. These potatoes are manually picked from the field and stored in shade. Manual harvesting of potatoes is very labour intensive, time consuming and causes lot of damage to the tubers. Various low cost bullock drawn and tractor drawn potato diggers have been developed at CPRI, Shimla which exposes 80% of the tubers and covers 1-3 ha of area per day. The harvested potatoes are surface dried and kept in heaps for 10-15 days in shade for curing of skin. The tubers should not be exposed to direct sunlight as they become green. All damaged and rotten tubers should be removed. The produce should be kept in a cool place before sending to the market.
Yield The yield varies from variety to variety. However, the average yield of the early-maturing varieties is about 20 t/ha and that of the late varieties about 30 t/ ha.
Potato Intercultural Operations Weed Control The potato crop develops canopy in about 4 weeks after planting and weeds must be controlled by this time to gain competitive advantage for the crop. If the weeds are large, they should be removed before the ridging operations begin. After earthing up the weeds between the growing plants and at the top of the ridge should be removed by mechanical or herbicide application. Weeding can be done manually however it is expensive. Hence, animal drawn three-tine cultivator is used which can cover one hectare per day. Alternatively pre-emergence spraying of weedicides such as Flucholralin (0.70-1.0 kg a.i./ha) or Pendimethalin (0.50 kg/ha) is recommended for controlling annual grass weeds and broad leaf weeds. Earthing up The main object of earthing up is to keep the soil loose and destroy weeds. Two or three earthing up should be done at an interval of 15-20 days. The first earthing-up should be done when the plants are about 15-25 cm high. The second earthing up is often done to cover up the tubers properly. Use of double mould board plough ridger or 3 and 5 row tractor drawn culti-ridger can accomplish the earthing up operation very well. Crop rotation The cropping sequence recommended is as follows-
Area Bihar Punjab
Assam Gujarat & Uttar Pradesh Madhya Pradesh
Crop rotation sequence Potato-Mung- Paddy Potato-Mung-Groundnut Potato-Wheat-Maize Potato-Wheat-Paddy Potato-Wheat-Green manure crop Potato-Mung-Paddy(Transplanted) Potato-Bajra-Groundnut Potato-Okra-Soybean
Intercropping Potato being a short duration and fast growing crop is an ideal for intercropping with other crops. It can be successfully intercropped with sugarcane, as the cultural operations and resources used in both the crops are mutually complimentary. The potato-fennel and potato-onion intercropping in Haryana; potato-mustard and potato-linseed in Uttar Pradesh; and potato-wheat intercropping in Bihar are some of the profitable crop combinations.
Potato Irrigation Irrigation has a special significance in the potato production as the plant has shallow and sparse root system. First irrigation should be light and given 5-7 days after planting and subsequent irrigation are given at 7-15 days interval depending upon the climatic condition and soil type. The drip system of irrigation is most economical giving highest productivity and saving almost 50% water. It also enables application of fertilizers through irrigation water. The sprinkler system gives uniform distribution of water and reduces water losses by percolation and run off. Sprinkler irrigation is beneficial on frosty nights as it reduces frost damage in potatoes. It is recommended for areas with undulating topography, extremely sandy soil and scarce water supply. Under such situations, the use of sprinkler systems increases water use efficiency by 40% as compared to furrow irrigation.
Potato Manuring & Fertilization Nutrient requirement of potato crop is quit high and the application of fertilizers and organic manures is considered essential to obtain economic and high yields. In light soils and places where organic manures are not easily available, green manuring is beneficial. The optimum dose of fertilizer application varies greatly depending upon the soil type, soil fertility, climate, crop rotation, variety, length of growing season and moisture supply. A fertilizer dose of 180-240 kg N, 60-90 kg P2O5 and 85130 K2O per hectare is recommended for alluvial soils of Indo Gangetic plains. In the hill zone, the application of 100-150 kg N, 100-150 kg P2O5 and 50-100 kg K2O per hectare is recommended. In black soils of plateau areas about 120-150 kg N, 50 kg each of P2O5 & K2O is recommended. In the acidic soils of southern plateau 120kg N, 115 kg P2O5, and 120 K2O kg per hectare are recommended for potato production. Two third of N and entire dose of P and K is given at the time of planting. The balance N is given at the time of earthing up operation. The fertilizers are applied by band placement 5 cm away from the tubers. Ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate are usually the best fertilizers for potato followed by calcium ammonium nitrate, ammonium chloride and urea.
Potato Pests Aphids (Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypi, Aphis fabae ): There are several kinds of aphids that feed on potato plants. Aphids transmit a virus disease and cause severe damage to the plant by sucking the juice from leaves and young stems. The plants may be stunted, with the leaves tightly curled and rolled when the attack is severe. th Control: Aphids are controlled by adjusting the planting dated upto 15 October in north western plains, 25th October in Central plains and upto 5th November in North eastern plains. In the Plains, aphids are controlled by application of Phorate 10 G (1.5kg a.i./ha) followed by spraying with Dimethoate 30 EC (0.03%). The spraying should be repeated every week till the insect is completely controlled.
Cut Worms (Agrotis ipsilon and Agrotis segetum): The caterpillars cause crop damage. They feed at night on young shoots or under ground tubers. In the early stages of if crop, the caterpillars cut the stem of the young plants near the ground and feed on the shoots and leaves. After tuber formation, they bore and nibble into the tubers affecting both tuber yield and market value. Control: Hot weather ploughing in plains and autumn ploughing in hills reduce the population of immature stages. A number of birds, feed on insects that get exposed upon ploughing. Spraying insecticides like Chlorpyrifos 20EC (2.5 litres/ha) and drenching the ridges on noticing the cutworms controls the pest.
Mites (Polyphagotarsonemus latus): The peak activity of mites occurs during August-September and mid October- mid December. Both adults and nymphs damage the crop by foliage feeding. Mite attack starts from the top potato leaves showing downward curling. In the early stages of infestation, the lower side of leaves appears 'oily'. Gradually these symptoms can be seen on the entire plant. The infested leaves become short and leathery in appearance with characteristic copper colour deposits on lower side. Under severe mite attack, the infested leaves dry up and wither away resulting into death of the plant. Control: The mite infestation on potato crop can be avoided by delayed planting towards mid October in Indo-Gangetic plains. Frequent spraying with Dicofol 18.5 EC or Quinalphos 25 EC @ 2.0 litres/ha controls the pest. The first application should be done on appearance of the pest and repeated at 7 to 10 days interval depending on the persistence of mite infestation.
Rootknot Nematode (Meloidogynae arenaria and M. incognita): Small galls or knots are formed on potato roots but they often go unnoticed. Heavily infested plants are stunted and exhibit early maturity. Reduction in size and number of tubers reduces the yield and warty 'pimple-like' outgrowths formed on tubers result in qualitative reduction. Control: Avoiding use of seeds from infested areas, deep ploughing and
drying of soil in summer months facilitate drying of infective larva, burning of trash and following a two year rotational sequence of' maize-wheat-potato-wheat reduces the root-knot damage significantly. Late Panting of autumn crop and early planting of spring crop in North-Western plains reduces nematode damage, while in the hills early planting of summer crop in 4th week of March is ideal. Application of Carbofuran (Furadan 3G) @ 3 kg a.i./ha is recommended for control of nematodes. The pesticide is applied in two split doses, first at planting and second during earthing up.
Potato Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida): Small patches of poorly growing plants appear in the field. Such plants show temporary wilting, stunting and premature yellowing symptoms. The size and number of tuber is reduced. Small mustard seed size yellow or white female nematodes are seen sticking to the roots. Control: Growing non-host crops like radish, garlic, beet and turnip brings down the cyst population. Application of Carbofuran 3G (2 kg a.i./ha) at the time of planting reduces the nematode population.
White Grubs (Lachnosterna longipennis and L. coracea): The grubs initially feed on rootlets/roots and then on tubers. The first stage grubs feed on live roots while the second and third instar grubs make large, shallow and circular holes in the tuber and render them unfit for marketing. Control: A majority of beetles (white grub adults) found in Western Himalayas are attracted to the light source hence electric or petromax light traps may be operated for mass-collection. Wild shrubs and other hosts of beetles growing in/around the potato fields should be removed. Repeated ploughing before monsoon (April-May) exposes the grubs and pupae. They may be handcollected and destroyed. Flooding of the fields, for 7-10 days, adopting suitable crop rotations and applying well rotten FYM helps in controlling the pest. Applying Phorate 10G or Carbofuran 3G @ 2.53.0 kg a.i. /ha in furrows at planting or near plants base during earthing time is more effective.
Potato Tubermoth (Phthorimaea operculella): Potato tubermoth (PTM) larvae mine the younger leaves and feeds on the tubers. Larvae penetrate the leaves and feed within leaf veins or stems of the plant and on tubers in storage by depositing the eggs near the eye buds, causing irregular galleries and 'tunnels' deep inside the tuber. Control: An integrated approach is helpful in reducing PTM population in the field and stores. Regular 3 monitoring of PTM adult males with sex pheromone baited water traps (4 traps/100 m ) in field and storage is helpful. Collection of left over tubers, use of uninfested seed tubers, deep planting, frequent irrigation wherever possible, covering the exposed tubers in the field with soil and storage of healthy tubers in moth proof structures are helpful. Spraying Monocrotophos 40 EC (1.5 litre in 1000 litres of water) on 30 day old crop is effective in controlling the pest. The same may be repeated two weeks before harvesting. Use of bioagents, viz. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Granulosis virus (GV) is advocated for PTM control in the stores.
Potato Post Harvest Technology Grading Differentiation of quality for potatoes is very complex. However, high quality traits, in commercial trade, include more than 70 to 80% of tubers which are well shaped, brightness of colour (esp. reds, yellows, and whites), uniformity, firmness, freedom from adhering soil, freedom from bruising (black spot or shatter-bruising), scuffing or skinning, growth cracks, sprouting, insect damage, Rhizoctonia Black Scurf, decay, greening, or other defects.
Packaging The harvested potatoes are packed in jute gunny bags.
Storage Storage requirements of potato vary with the purpose for which potatoes are stored. The methods generally used for storage of potatoes are-
Room Storage The room should have a high plinth and good ventilation. The doors and ventilators should be fitted with insect-proof wire-nets. Potatoes can be stored in single layers on sand. Frequent examination is necessary to discard tubers showing rotting symptoms.
Pit Storage In this system, the tubers are stored in pits 60-75 cm deep and 2.5 metre long and 1 metre wide. These pits are made in a cool shady place. Water is sprinkled inside the pit to achieve the cooling effect. After two days neem leaves, dry grass or sugarcane trash is lined all round the pit from inside. Bamboo chimneys of 1.5 metre length are placed inside the pit 1 metre apart for facilitating evaporation of the moisture deposited due to transpiration of the stored tubers. Pits are then filled with tubers leaving 15 cm on top followed by a one-foot layer of dry grass. A thatch is provided over the pit as protection from rain and sun.
Cold Storage This is the best method of storing potatoes. At optimum conditions, potatoes should have good quality after storage of 3 to 5 weeks. Best temperature and humidity conditions for potatoes are as followsIntended Use
Temperature
RH (%)
Seed
O
2.4 C
95
Table
7째C
98
Processing
8-12째C
95
Potatoes in the cold storage are spread over the shelf to a thickness of not more than 30 cm. Individual shelves are about 45 cm high and 15 cm space is allowed between two layers. Sprouting is often a serious problem in storage of potatoes. Temperature, humidity, variety and maturity affects sprouting. Isopropyl N-Chlorophenyl Carbamate (CIPC) is effective as sprout suppressant. Its effectiveness is greator when CIPC treated potatoes were stored under refrigeration under 8-12째C as against non-refrigerated storage.
Potato Planting Land Preparation The land is ploughed at a depth of 24-25 cm and exposed to the sun. The soil should have a higher pore space and offer least resistance to tuber development. Well decomposed FYM (25-30 t/ha) is mixed with the soil during last ploughing.
Season of planting Potatoes can be grown only under such conditions where the temperatures during the growing season are moderately cool. Therefore, the planting time varies from region to region. In hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, the spring crop is sown from January-February while the summer crop is sown in the month of May. In plains of Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal spring st crop is sown in January while the main crop in the 1 week of October. In the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka the kharif crop is sown by end of June while rabi crop is sown from mid of October-November.
Method of Planting Furrows are opened at a distance of 50-60 cm before planting. The whole or cut tubers are planted 1520 cm apart on the centre of the ridge at a depth of 5-7 cm and covered with soil. The seed rate of potato depends upon the season of planting, duration, seed size, spacing etc. The seed rate is 1.5-1.8 t/ha for round varieties and 2.0-2.5 t/ha for oval varieties. A four-row automatic potato planter developed by CPRI performs all the operations from ridging to planting and covers an area of 4-5 hectares per day. The tuber damage is as low as 1% while it requires only 2-3 persons for the entire operation.
Potato Plant
Potato Propogation Selection of Seed Tuber Potato is mostly cultivated by planting tubers. Purity of the cultivars and healthy seed tubers are the primary requirements for a successful crop. However, seed tuber is the costliest input in potato cultivation. The tuber seed should be disease free, well-sprouted and 30-40 g each in weight. It is advisable to use the entire seed tuber for planting. Hill tuber seeds are split into pieces and planted late in winter when they do not decay due to mild temperatures. The main objectives of cutting large size tubers are to reduce the cost of seed and to obtain uniform sprouting. Tubers should be cut longitudinally through the crown eye and the weight of the cut piece should be around 30-40 g. Usually the seed tubers are cut with a knife just and treated with a fungicide before planting. Before cutting the seed tuber, the knife should be disinfected with Potassium Permanganate solution. The shortage of good quality seed tubers, high seed cost, transportation of bulky potato seed, and virus infiltration in seed tubers are some of the important problems associated with use of seed tubers as planting material.
True Potato Seed (TPS) To overcome the above problems True Potato Seed (TPS) is used as planting material. TPS is a botanical seed developed in the berry of the plant as a result of fertilization. The technology basically consists in production of TPS and raising commercial potato crop from it. It has been shown that the use of TPS seedling transplants and seedling-tubers as seed are economical and successful approaches to commercial potato production. In TPS technique, the normal seed rate (2.5 t/ha) of potato is drastically reduced to only about 200g of TPS, thereby, saving huge quantities of food material for table purposes. About 100 g of TPS costing Rs.3000/- is sufficient to plant one hectare of potato as against 2-3 tonnes of seed tuber per hectare costing Rs.20,000-30,000/Potato crop can be raised from TPS using seedling transplants or through seedling-tubers produced in preceeding crop season. In former method, the TPS seedlings raised in nursery beds are transplanted in the field and grown to maturity. While, in latter, the TPS seedlings are grown to maturity in nursery beds to obtain seedling-tubers. These seedling-tubers are used as a seed for raising normal potato crop in next season. TPS technology is likely to gain momentum in future particularly in the non-seed producing areas viz. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and the states of north-eastern region where good quality seed tubers are either not available or are too expensive.
Potato Soil & Climate Soil The potato can be grown almost on any type of soil except saline and alkaline soils. Soils, which are naturally loose, offer least resistance to the enlargement of the tubers is preferred. Loamy and sandy loam soils, rich in organic matter with good drainage and aeration are most suitable for cultivation of potato crop. The soil with pH range of 5.2-6.4 is considered to be ideal.
Climate Potato is a temperate climate crop, however it grows under a diverse range of climatic conditions. It is grown only under such conditions where the temperature during the growing seasons is moderately cool. The vegetative growth of the plant is best at a temperature of 24째C while tuber development is favoured at 20째C. Hence, potato is grown as a summer crop in the hills and as a winter crop in the tropical and subtropical regions. The crop can be raised up to an altitude of 3000 m above the sea level.
Potato Varieties Name of the variety/ Area & its Characteristics
Kufri Sindhuri Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Medium, round red deep eyes. Moderately resistant to early blight and tolerant to Potato Leaf Roll Virus (PLRV). Slow rate of degeneration. Can tolerate temperature and water stress to some extent. Crop matures in 110-120 days. Average yield is 40 t/ha. Tolerant to late blight disease. Suitable for processing.
Kufri Chandramukhi Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Large, oval, white, slightly flattened, fleet eyes and dull white flesh. Average yield is 25 t/ha. Crop matures in 80-90 days. Suitable for instant flakes and chips.
Kufri Jyoti Maharashtra, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka & WestBengal. Large, oval, white, fleet eyes and white flesh. Crop matures early in hills, Average yield in hills 20 t/ha. Moderately resistant to early and late blight. Slow rate of degeneration. It is suitable for processing purpose.
Kufri Lauvkar Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka . Large, round, white, fleet eyes and white flesh. Able to build up yields rapidly under warmer climate. Crop matures in 75-80 days. Average yield is 30 t/ha. Suitable for chip making.
Kufri Badshah Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir. Large, oval, white, fleet eyes, dull white flesh, and tubers turn purple on exposure to light. Moderately resistant to early and late blight and resistant to Potato Virus X (PVX). Crop matures in 100-110 days. Average yield is 50 t/ha. Suitable for table purpose.
Kufri Bahar Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir. Large, round-oval, white, medium deep eyes. Slow rate of degeneration. Crop matures in 100-110 days. Average yield is 45 t/ha. Suitable for table purpose.
Kufri Lalima Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Large to medium, red, round, medium deep eyes and white flesh. Crop matures in 100-110 days. Average yield 40t/ha. Moderately resistant to early blight. Resistant to Potato Virus Y (PVY). Not suitable for processing
Kufri Jawahar Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka. Medium, round-oval, creamy white, fleet eyes and pale yellow flesh. Crop matures in 80-90 days. Average yield is 40 t/ha. Moderately resistant to late blight. Suitable in intensive-cropping systems. Suitable for table purpose.
Kufri Sutlej Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Large, oval, white, fleet eyes and white flesh. Crop matures in 90-100 days. Average yield is 40 t/ha. Moderately resistant to late blight. Suitable for table purpose.
Kufri Ashoka Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal Large, oval-long, white, fleet eyes and white flesh. Susceptible to late light. Crop matures in 70-80 days, Average yield is 40 t/ha. Suitable for tablepurpose.
Kufri Pukhraj Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal Large, oval, slightly tapered, white, fleet eyes and yellow flesh. Crop matures in 70-90 days. Average yield is 40t/ha. Resistant to early blight and moderately resistant to late blight. Suitable for table purpose.
Kufri Chipsona-1 Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Medium to large, oval, white, fleet eyes and dull white flesh. Crop matures in 90-110 days. Average yield is 40 t/ha. Resistant to late blight and tolerant to frost. Suitable for making chips and French fries.
Kufri Chipsona-2 Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Medium, Round-oval, white, fleet eyes and yellow flesh. Crop matures in 90110 days. Average yield is 35 t/ha. Resistant to late blight and tolerant to frost. Suitable for making chips and French fries.
Kufri Anand Plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Medium oval-long, white, flattened, fleet eyes, smooth skin and white flesh. Resistant to late blight and tolerant to frost. Average yield is 35-40 t/ha. Crop matures in 100-110 days. Suitable for preparing French fries.
Exotic Varieties: USA Processing Purpose White potato, Burbank Russet, Katahdin. Table & Processing Purpose Russet, Round White, Long White, Round Red, Yellow Flesh, Blue and Purple.