The reasons why potatoes do not bloom, what to do to have a harvest?
There are several reasons why potatoes may not bloom. Flowering does not affect the formation of the crop in any way, but this period is important for the development of the plant. Before dealing with the problem, you need to find out which variety is planted. There are varieties that are rare, medium and abundant flowering, but there are those that do not at all imply the passage of the flowering stage.
When and how much does potatoes bloom?
The potato is a flowering plant. Potato flowering is necessary, if this development cycle is absent, the degeneration of the vegetable crop gradually occurs. The harvest will be smaller every year.
The potato is a thermophilic and photophilous vegetable crop. It begins to germinate at a temperature of + 6-7 degrees. The warmer the air and soil, the faster the seedlings will appear. Flowering occurs approximately 34 days after germination.
During flowering and the beginning of wilting, tubers begin to form. Up to 30 small tubers can form, but only 15–18 of them reach full maturity. The final ripening and growth of tubers occurs at the time when the tops completely dry out and wither.
How many days the flowering period lasts depends on the weather conditions and the variety chosen. Flowering occurs in mid-June. Mostly potatoes bloom for about two weeks. But there are varieties of vegetables that bloom very quickly and, if you do not appear too often on the site, you may not even notice this period.
Why doesn't potatoes bloom and how much is it needed?
Missing flowers may indicate a problem. In this case, you need to take measures to eliminate it:
- The reason may be unfavorable weather conditions (heat, drought, heavy rains).
- Planting low-quality tubers. It is impossible to choose sluggish, sprouted, small tubers as planting material.
- Invasion of pests. The ladybug and ground beetle become frequent enemies. They completely eat the buds, can move to the leaves, which carry nutrients to the tubers.
- Infection with a fungal, viral or bacterial infection.
- Insufficient care: weeding, hilling. The problem can be caused by planting potato beds in the shade, excessive watering, an excess of fertilizers, poor-quality soil composition, lack of a nutrient medium in it.
Even experienced vegetable growers may face the question of whether there will be a harvest if the potatoes are not blooming? The flowering stage itself does not in any way affect the quality of the crop, but the cause that led to the problem can negatively affect the development of the plant.For example, if there is no blooming due to infection, the risk of spreading the disease to the tubers increases. In this case, the help of fungicides is required.
Some growers are convinced that it is better to pick the flowers to make the tubers larger. If it was decided to cut off the flowers, then you need to do it correctly. They begin to cut off either the buds that have not yet blossomed, or the flowers before the start of seed formation. The procedure is advisable only if the variety is distinguished by abundant flowering.
Why potatoes do not bloom: a feature of the variety
Let summer residents not worry about whether there will be a potato harvest if the plant has not bloomed. Provided that the rules for planting, caring for the plant are observed, and favorable weather conditions are present, the crop will certainly be harvested. The flowering of potatoes does not in any way affect the quality and quantity of yield.
An achievement of modern breeders is to develop a potato variety that does not bloom. Such a vegetable usually has very early fruit ripening. Tuber formation begins long before the flowering period.
The main positive aspects of the fact that a vegetable crop does not bloom are:
- the plant does not waste energy and nutritional components on the formation of flowers.
- the absence of a flowering period helps to bypass common diseases and avoid pest attacks.
- all micronutrients are mainly consumed only by the underground part, so the harvest is healthy and tasty.
There are potato varieties in which the flowering phase is very fast and easy to overlook. The flowers are small.
There are varieties that bloom only in good weather conditions. If the weather is hot, dry, then the plant does not waste energy on flowering.
Potatoes do not bloom due to pests
Diseases and pests affect the harvest at the end of the growing season. Insect pests not only change the appearance of potato bushes, but also often become carriers of various infectious diseases. Therefore, it is so important to get rid of them in time.
Potato ladybug and the ground beetle are frequent enemies, which may prevent potatoes from blooming. They eat buds and flowers that have already opened. Ladybug (28-point) feeds not only on delicate flower petals, but also eats leaves, leaving bare veins.
In order to prevent pests from appearing in the garden, at the beginning of the flowering period, the beds are treated with wood ash or corn flour. If small orange insects have already been found on the bushes, it is recommended to treat with Fitoverm or Tanrek.
If the plants do not bloom, they begin to dry and turn yellow ahead of time, the cause becomes an attack potato nematode.
Of the diseases, the most dangerous is a fungal disease - late blight. Stems and leaves begin to become covered with maroon spots and stripes. By the flowering period, the plant already has time to die. Other diseases that affect potato bushes include black leg, ring rot.
All these reasons can negatively affect not only the characteristics of the flowering period, but also the formation of the crop. Tubers are most often formed small, deformed and not subject to long-term storage.
Insufficient care and feeding
During the flowering period, potatoes must be especially carefully looked after. At this time, the plant consumes a lot of water and nutrients.
Basic guidelines like take care of potatoes during the flowering period are:
- compliance with the irrigation regime (if there is no rain, then up to three liters of water are calculated per bush);
- after watering, loosening and hilling are carried out in order to improve air circulation and the supply of nutrients to the roots;
- special attention is paid to plant nutrition (both organic and mineral components are suitable).
To speed up the budding stage, it is useful to add wood ash with potassium sulfate. After the start of mass flowering, it is recommended to add superphosphate. For foliar processing, you can make a composition of urea, potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate.
If you follow all these rules, then the potatoes will grow large, without damaged tubers.
Do I need to do something if the potatoes are not blooming?
If not an ultra-early potato variety is planted, then you need to figure out why it does not bloom and what needs to be done.
It is imperative to establish an irrigation regime and apply complex fertilizers on time. Special fungicides such as Fitosporin, Hom will help from pests. Weeding should be carried out on time to prevent weed growth and hilling.
How do potatoes bloom? When the vegetable blooms, several inflorescences of 2-3 curls appear on each bush. The flowers are large (up to 4 cm in diameter), the color depends on the variety. Corollas can be white, yellow, pink, purple.
Good luck with the disease)
Hom and phytosporin protect plants not from pests, but from diseases! For those who catch the difference in these words, of course!