Potato farming is most important worldwide as it is the most popular food crop. Moreover, this economic crop is a true friend of the poor farmers as they can get huge profits by cultivating it at minimum expenses. And the origin-country of this crop is South America, and it is a sound source of vitamins and starch. The use of this crop is in making chips and vegetables. Also, the use of this crop is for the production of alcohol and starch. We can grow potatoes in about all the states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, West Bengal, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. In Punjab, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Patiala are the primary producers of potatoes.
Climate for Potato Farming
Potato farming needs a temperature of 14 to 25°C. And sowing potatoes at a temperature of 15 to 25°C can be beneficial for farmers. Moreover, the ideal rainfall for potato farming is 300 to 500mm. Also, harvest the potato crop at a temperature of 14 to 20°C to obtain a healthy yield.
Soil for Potato Farming
Various soil types are helpful for potato farming, including sandy loam, silt loam, loam and clay soils. Also, you can cultivate it in sandy and medium loam soils with good drainage and rich organic contents. Moreover, we can grow it in acidic soils as well—only ovoid its cultivation in waterlogged, saline and alkaline soils.
Popular Varieties
- Kufri-Alankar: An average yield of 120 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Ashoka: The variety matures in 70 to 80 days
- Kufri-Badshah: An average yield of 130 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Bahar: An average yield of 100-120 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Chamatkar: An average yield of 100 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Chipsona 2: An average yield of 140 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Chandramukhi: An average yield of 100 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Jawahar: An average yield of 160 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Pukhraj: An average yield of 160 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Sutlej: An average yield of 160 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Sindhuri: An average yield of 120 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Surya: An average yield of 100-125 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Pushkar: An average yield of 160-170 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Jyoti: An average yield of 80-120 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Chipsona 1: An average yield of 170-180 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Chipsona 3: An average yield of 165-175 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Frysona: An average yield of 160-170 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Alankar: An average yield of 120 QTL/acre
- Kufri-Giriraj
- Kufri-Himsona
- Kufri-Himalini
- Kufri-Giridhari
- Kufri-Shailja
- Kufri-Jyoti
- Kufri-Gaurav
- Kufri-Garima
- Kufri-Sadabahar
- Kufri-Khyati
- Kufri-Surya
Land Preparation
You have to plough land by keeping the depth of 20 to 25 cm deep as potato farming needs weel pulverised soil. Also, apply 2 or 3 harrowing after ploughing operations. And you should also use planking 1 or 2 times to keep the field level. Maintaining sufficient moisture in the soil gives significant sowing operations. And you can use either Ridge and furrow or Flat Bed methods for plantation. Moreover, you can use good quality machines like Mahindra Tractor and others to adequately prepare the land.
Sowing
You have to plant potatoes at an accurate time for getting max output. The best time is when the temperature ranges between 18-20 °C to 30-32 °C for the plantation. Keep the tubers’ distance of 20cm and ridges’ distance of 60cm. Also, the distancing depends upon the sizes of the tubers. For example, when tubers have a 2.5-3.5 cm diameter, the distance must be 60×15 cm and keep the distance 60×40 cm for 5-6 cm diameter tubers. And control the sowing depth of 6-8 inches deep and use a semi-automatic or automatic planter with the help of good tractors like ACE Tractor and more.
Seeds
You should use the seed rate of 8-10 QTL/acre for small tubers, medium tubers of 10-12 QTL/acre, and large tubers of 12-18 QTL/acre. First, treat tubers with Gibberellic acid @1 gm/10 ltr water. Then dry them and keep them in the dim lightroom for 10 days.
Weed Control
Before sprouts emergence, apply Metribuzin 70WP @ 200gm or Alachlor @ 2 ltr per Acre. Also, apply hand weeding after 25 days of planting. On the other hand, for hilly areas, apply hand weeding after 40 to 45 days of planting.
Irrigation
Irrigation must be done immediately or after 2 or 3 days of the plantation. For optimum results, give frequent and light irrigation. Also, avoid flood irrigation because it causes rot diseases. Moreover, you can apply 3 to 4 irrigation for heavy soils and 8 to 12 irrigation for sandy soils. And use second water after 30 to 35 days of planting and stop irrigation before 10 days of harvesting.
Plant Protection
- Aphid: Spray with Thiamethoxam @ 40gm or Imidacloprid @ 50ml per acre/150ltr water
- Cutworms: Spraying with Quinalphos 25EC @ 2ml/1Ltr of water
- Leaf eating Caterpillar: Spray with Lambda Cyhalothrin @ 1ml or Chlorpyrifos or Profenofos @ 2ml/Ltr of water
- Epilanchna Beetle: Spray of Carbaryl @ 1gm per ltr of water
- White Grub: Broadcasting with Carbofuran 3G @ 12kg or Thimet 10G @ 7kg/acre
- Potato Tuber Moth: Spray of Carbaryl @ 1gm per Ltr of water
- Early blight: Spray of Copper oxychloride @ 30gm or Mancozeb @ 30gm / 10ltr water
- Black scurf: Seed treatment with Mercury
- Late Blight: Spray of Propineb @ 40gm/15Ltr of water
- Common scab: Seeds treatment with Emisan 6 @ 0.25%
- Bacterial soft rot: Seeds treatment with Carbendazim @ 1%
- Mosaic: Spray of Metasystox or Rogor @300ml per acre of land in 200 litres of water
Harvesting
You can identify the harvesting time by seeing the leaves as they turn into yellow-brown colour at maturity. Then, after 15 to 20 days of Dehaulming, you can harvest the field. Moreover, you can use tractor driven potato digger for harvesting or do it by spades. After harvesting, you should dry potatoes in the shade and keep them in heaps for 15 days to cure the skin. Now, you should remove damaged and rotten tubers.
Post Harvest
Separate the healthy tubers by removing cut or injured tubers. After it, grade them according to size. The big size tubers have more market demand as they are used for making chips. Moreover, you can store them at a temperature of 4 to 7°C with relative humidity.
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