Characteristics of the potato variety Romano
Among the varieties of Dutch selection that Russian gardeners love, a special place is occupied by Romano potatoes. It has excellent marketability and is resistant to many diseases.
Characteristics of the potato variety Romano
The cultivation technology of this variety is traditional, but there are several recommendations, the observance of which will allow you to get the maximum yield of good quality.
Features of the Romano variety
Romano potato variety, according to the description, belongs to medium early, table. From the emergence of seedlings to reaching the technical maturity of root crops, 65-80 days pass.
Romano was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements back in 1994. This variety is recommended for cultivation in the central and southern regions of Russia, in the Far East. It is suitable both for summer cottages and for growing on an industrial scale.
According to its characteristics, the variety has an erect bush of medium to high size, compact, with abundant green mass. Corolla color is red-violet. Tubers of medium size, rounded-oval, weight - 80-90 g. 8-10 fruits are tied under the bush (under favorable conditions - up to 20), small roots are usually not formed. The skin is pink, dense, perfectly protects the potatoes from damage during harvesting and transportation. The eyes are small, of medium depth. The pulp is light creamy.
A variety for universal use. The starch content is average, 10-13%, so Romano is used to make chips and fries.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Romano variety
Despite the average yield (800-900 g is harvested from a bush; 110-347 centners per hectare), the variety is popular among gardeners and agricultural farms. Description of its merits:
- excellent commercial qualities: uniformity of tubers, marketability; resistance to damage, the ability to transport over long distances;
- drought resistance; Romano produces crops even in dry summers with moderate watering;
- good keeping quality under normal storage conditions (temperature - 2-5 ° C), tubers are not prone to germination;
- immunity (or moderate susceptibility) to many potato diseases.
One of the disadvantages of the variety is its thermophilicity, fear of recurrent frosts.
Increasing yields by creating the most favorable growing conditions makes it profitable for cultivation in market-oriented farms.
Planting Romano potatoes
The consumer qualities of Romano, its yield depend on the correct agricultural technology. Compliance with simple rules allows you to preserve the advantages and minimize the disadvantages.
Soil preparation
Choose a sunny site for planting potatoes
A prerequisite for a good harvest is the correct choice of planting site and soil preparation. The culture loves sunny areas.Potatoes cannot be grown in the same place several times in a row: this leads to the spread of diseases. It is undesirable to place potato plantings next to the beds on which plants of the Solanaceae family are grown: tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers.
According to the characteristics, a loose, light, rich in oxygen and minerals, neutral or slightly alkaline soil is best suited for potatoes. However, it can be grown on any soil, subject to several rules:
- acidified soils (usually in waterlogged areas) deacidify, scattering dolomite flour, chalk, ash;
- in the fall, the site is dug up to ensure good aeration;
- sandy and sandy loam soils need to increase fertility (in the fall, organic and inorganic materials are introduced); and heavy clay soils are made lighter by digging with peat, sand, humus;
- in the spring, they must loosen to a depth of 15-20 cm, and heavy loamy soils are again dug up to a depth of 30 cm before planting.
Vegetable growers note the effectiveness of the use of green manure. These are green fertilizers (alfalfa, mustard, peas, etc.) that will improve the characteristics of the soil: make it looser, enrich it with nitrogen and reduce the number of weeds. In the fall they sow the plots allotted for potatoes, and in the spring they dig them up.
Planting potatoes Romano
You can plant Romano potatoes on the garden bed when the topsoil warms up to a temperature of 15-20 ° C and there is no threat of night frosts. Depending on the region, this could be April or May. It is not recommended to plant in waterlogged soil. If subsoil waters come close to the surface, make high beds or plant in ridges.
Description of approaches to the selection of inoculum and its preparation:
- tubers weighing about 50 g are used as seeds (you can also plant smaller ones - 10-20 g); reproduction of this varietal potato is practiced by dividing the tuber (it is cut with a knife dipped in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate into several parts with shoots);
- seeds are germinated at a temperature of 14-16 ° C in a bright room, periodically moistening; when the shoots of a purple hue reach 3-5 cm, the material is ready for planting (seeds germinated in a dark room will have white, elongated, less viable shoots);
- before planting, tubers are treated with drugs to prevent damage by pests, diseases, growth stimulants.
The holes are laid at a distance of 60-80 cm. When planting, add humus, wood ash, fertilizers. The planting depth also depends on the quality of the soil. The heavier the soil, the less soil the potatoes should cover (from 8-10 cm to 15-20 cm).
Potato care
Plants need good care
Romano's yield, its consumer qualities depend on timely and high-quality watering, hilling, and potato feeding
Watering and hilling
The variety is resistant to heat, easily tolerates short-term drought.
During the season, the beds are watered at least 2-3 times. It is not recommended to overly moisten the soil. After watering, it is imperative to loosen and remove weeds, this provides oxygen access to the roots of plants and is one of the preventive measures.
To create favorable conditions for tying tubers, hilling is carried out. For the Romano variety, the procedure is performed 2-3 times per season. Young bushes are sprinkled for the first time when they have risen 10 cm above the ground. After hilling, abundant watering is carried out. When the stems have grown to 15-20 cm, the earth is poured again. Previously, the beds are loosened and weeded.
Fertilizer
Top dressing of potatoes is carried out in three stages: after the emergence of shoots, at the time of bud formation, during flowering, when the tubers are tied. A complex of organic and inorganic fertilizers is used.
For root feeding use:
- bird droppings (diluted, fermented, in a ratio of 1:10);
- urea (1 tbsp.l. for 10 liters of water);
- mullein (the proportion of fresh manure and water is 1:10, it is fermented and spilled between rows);
- herbal infusion (weeds fermented in a barrel of water, preferably used in June);
- mineral fertilizers (a mixture of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash in a ratio of 1: 1: 2, 25 g per 10 liters of water).
During the growing season, usually before the flowers appear, foliar feeding is carried out. The compositions are sprayed onto the bush in the evening to prevent burns. For such feeding, solutions with urea, superphosphate, humate, nettle infusion are used.
Treatment against diseases and pests
The advantage of the Romano variety is its resistance to viruses A and Yn, cancer, potato nematode, late blight of tubers.
Such immunity ensures high marketability and good keeping quality. The only disease to which this species is susceptible is scab. It mainly affects the tubers, the lower part of the stem and the root. Gustatory qualities deteriorate, shelf life is reduced, planting material deteriorates.
Preventive measures are observance of crop rotation, planting green manure, abundant watering from the moment the tubers are set until they reach 2-3 cm in diameter. Mowing the tops 2 weeks before harvesting will help protect tubers from late blight and scab.
Another method of combating diseases is to increase the defenses of plants. For this I use nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers (ammonium sulfate, superphosphate), preparations containing trace elements: copper, manganese, magnesium, boron, cobalt.
Conclusion
Romano potatoes will delight the owners with the quality of the crop. Beautiful, even tubers that keep well until spring sell well on the market.
Romano has many advantages, thanks to which it has been successfully cultivated by summer residents and gardeners for more than 20 years.