Description of the Zekura potato variety, its characteristics and yield
Zekur's mid-early table potatoes were bred by breeders from Germany. Young potato ready for 65–80 days, full maturity is reached in 90–100 days. The variety meets the requirements set by the Germans: pleasant taste, resistance to diseases, the ability to grow under unfavorable conditions. Zekura was entered into the State Register of the Russian Federation in 1997. A productive variety is shown for cultivation in the Russian, Ukrainian, Moldavian, Belarusian territories. The best place for cultivation was named the Central Black Earth Region of Russia.
Description of the variety
The variety description includes an overview of potato bushes and tubers.
The intermediate type grows of medium height and remains compact throughout the growing season. The bushes form dark green leaves and reddish-purple flowers. One plant forms 12-15 fruits with small, barely noticeable eyes. Competent care and favorable weather conditions allow to collect up to 325 centners of the crop per 1 hectare.
Oblong, rich yellow tubers weighing from 60 to 150 g with a smooth peel have a pulp of the same color. Boiling potatoes is due to the starch content of up to 18%, which is ideal for mashed potatoes, roasts, and first courses.
Growing
Before planting Zekura potatoes, attention is focused on collecting strong, seedy material that is germinated and greened over a period of two weeks.
Responsible business is the preparation of the site, the choice of which is based on soil fertility, good aeration, without nearby groundwater. It is advisable to alternate vegetables on the site or change plantings at least two years later. If this cannot be put into practice, the soil is healed by sowing green manure.
Acidic soils require spring application of dolomite flour or lime. Organic fertilizers and superphosphates are laid in the fall.
The best precursors of potatoes are legumes, cucumbers, and corn.
Directly in the process of planting potatoes, you must adhere to the following rules:
- Place the tubers in soil warmed up to +8 to a depth of 10-15 cm.
- Form rows and plant seeds according to the scheme 60x35 cm, deepening by 8-10 cm.
- Apply a dose of active Pix fertilizer to each well, which makes this type of potato more productive. In this regard, complex chlorine-free fertilizers from Finland Kemira-potato and Kemira-universal are effective.
Timely renewal of the planting material will prevent the degeneration of the variety.
Care features
Zekura potatoes do not need careful care, they easily get used to the climate in the cultivation area, they normally tolerate the vagaries of the weather, which include short-term frosts, drought, and heat. Consistent yields are achieved when grown in both warm and cold regions.
Care features:
- The first loosening is carried out even before the emergence of shoots, a week after planting the potatoes, using a heavy rake or harrow.
- Seedlings are huddled with full soil cover to protect them from potential frost.
- The third hilling forms additional underground shoots.
- Mulching the site reduces the planting requirements for watering, loosening, weeding, protects the soil from moisture evaporation and overheating. Needles, humus, rotted sawdust are considered good raw materials for mulch.
- If there is no mulch, when the soil dries up, it needs moistening and sprinkling of potato bushes. After that, loosening of the soil is recommended to prevent the formation of a crust on the surface and resume the unhindered penetration of air to the roots of the plant.
Advantages and disadvantages
Zecura is a potato with many benefits:
- Consistently high yields, subject to compliance with agrotechnical requirements.
- Excellent taste of root vegetables, softness, flavoring, attractive appearance.
- Shelf life up to 4 months.
- Unpretentiousness, resistance to the negative influence of the external environment.
- Excellent adaptation to the domestic climate.
- Medium early harvest.
- Easy digging of tubers due to shallow bedding (if regular hilling was carried out).
- Preservation of varietal characteristics for several years.
- Unaffected by most nightshade diseases and pests.
The characteristics of the variety show that Zekura has practically no shortcomings, which is why the potatoes are so loved by the owners of summer cottages and agronomists of agricultural enterprises that select varieties for commercial use.
With all the advantages of the variety, it is desirable to provide full care, this serves as a guarantee of maximum return. For example, in spite of drought resistance, in the absence of rain and watering, tubers become smaller. Not everyone is satisfied with the boilability of potatoes. There are no other disadvantages of Zekura, and the low yield is due to improper care.
Pests and diseases
The crop is generally resistant to disease and rarely attacked by pests and rodents. It is recommended to take preventive measures for maximum protection against common potato pests, which are: bear, Colorado potato beetle, nematode, wireworm. Of the diseases, black leg, phytophthora, wilting leaves and others should be distinguished.
Prevention:
- Regular loosening of the soil and weed control.
- The introduction of wood ash or lime in the autumn.
- Treatment with fungicides and insecticides.
- Compliance with the irrigation regime, avoiding waterlogging and overdrying of the soil.
Harvesting and storage
The growing period of Zekura potatoes lasts 100 days. If the planting was carried out in early to mid-May, you can start digging in the second half of August.
Potato tops must be cut a week before harvest!
The tubers are dug out on a fine day, laying them out on the ridges for drying. Then the potatoes are placed under a canopy until completely dry.
It is important to ensure the darkening of the room, avoiding greening of the fruit. A green peel indicates a deposition of poison.
Before storage, the tubers are sorted by selecting the seed material. Potatoes are allowed to be stored in the basement, cellar, loggia or balcony. Boxes and nets are considered suitable containers. Bulk method with a layer of up to one and a half meters is not prohibited.
Recommended room temperature: + 2–5 ºC.Subject to the above conditions, most tubers retain their properties until late spring. If shoots appear long before planting, they are cut off.
It is not difficult to grow potatoes of the Zekura variety, however, a good result is achieved subject to agricultural technology and care rules.
The “foreign guest” has spread across the Russian territory and the CIS countries due to its taste and high yield.
