Reliable and beloved by farmers potato variety "Alvara" from German breeders

High yields and resistance to diseases distinguish the German potato variety Alvar. The characteristics allow it to be planted in most of the Russian regions and get an excellent harvest. Alvara is recognized as gardeners of foreign and domestic regions.

Description of the variety

Alvara is a medium early variety with a 3-month ripening period... Re-planting does not lead to degeneration, which was immediately appreciated by gardeners. The potato tops are distinguished by thick and large foliage, purple-red flowers. Growing tubers are compact, shallow from the surface. The productivity of the variety is high, and the taste is pleasant, since the tubers contain a high percentage of starch (13-15%).

Reference. The famous Lays chips are made from Alvara.

In the photo - Alvar's potatoes.

Origin and development

The variety was bred by German brothers Frank and Winfried Lange in 1975... The potatoes were obtained by transplanting and crossing, for which two mother tubers of the highest quality were used, from which the best were selected over 10 years. The result was several harvests in a row with the best varietal performance remaining unchanged.

It took 10 years to patent and register a new breeding variety.

Distinctive features, appearance, yield

The characteristics of potatoes are presented in the table:

Plant is an intermediate type of potato: the main stem is upright, the rest are reclining. The leaves are small; waviness of low intensity is observed along the plate.

About 10 large oval tubers are formed on the bush, the average weight of which reaches 110 g. The pulp has excellent taste, does not darken. The eyes do not interfere with cooking - there are few of them, and they lie close to the surface. Suitable for preparing absolutely any dishes. Taste qualities were rated by experts at 4.8 points out of 5.

According to the results of state tests in Russia a marketable yield of 295 centners per hectare was recorded. In the Kaliningrad region, the variety showed itself the best - 440 centners per hectare. The marketability of tubers is 81-90%, which is comparable to the standards, and keeping quality is 90%.

Reference. Due to the high starch content (12.1-14.1%), Alvara is actively used for the manufacture of chips, crackers, as well as starch and freeze-dried puree.

The average recorded yield of the variety is from 300 to 540 centners potatoes per hectare, marketability - up to 93%. For gardeners, this is 500 kg per one hundred square meters.

How to grow

Growing these potatoes does not require much effort and does not differ from agricultural technology of other potato varieties.

Timing, scheme and landing rules

On household plots, they use the traditional method planting potatoes:

1. Before planting, the tubers are selected according to the external and quality parameters of the seed material (medium size, even, without signs of spoilage).
2. The tubers are pre-germinated so that the sprouts appear 2-3 cm.
3. Planting is carried out in warm soil at a temperature of + 8 ... + 10 ° C.
4. Potatoes are planted at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other. The deepening should be appropriate for the weather.

The soil must be moist when planting.but not stick to the shovel and crumble perfectly.

Reference.The variety is suitable for planting under hay.

Additionally, the following procedures are carried out:

• soil treatment with disinfectants;
• sprinkling holes or furrows with ash and humus before planting.

Care

Alvara is guaranteed to produce a high yield even with minimal maintenance. The following requirements must be met:

1. Hilling in a timely manner in the initial phase of growth at a plant height of 15-20 cm. Hilling a second time after 2 weeks.
2. Apply fertilizers. Before planting, it is humus and ash, during the period of growing tops - urea or mullein / bird droppings, before flowering - potassium sulfate or wood ash, after flowering - "Nitrofoska" or superphosphate.
3. Watering is rare, but abundant. During the entire growing period, it is enough to water the plants 4-5 times. The soil should be soaked to a depth of 40-50 cm. The approximate amount of water is 12 liters per bush.
4. Remove weeds in a timely manner and loosen between rows.

Even with a one-time fertilization, the yield and quality of tubers will be high.

Diseases and pests

Potato growing process complicates the fight against the Colorado potato beetle... Effective ways to destroy it:

1. Processing of planting material to protect the potato planting for a period of 40-60 days. Specialized products are sold at hardware stores.
2. Spraying tops and stems with beetle poison.

Spraying is necessary after the appearance of the larvae, repeat if necessary.

About other varieties of "red" potatoes:

Unpretentious and productive potatoes "Desiree"

Disease resistant potatoes "Courage"

Unpretentious and productive potatoes «Labella»

Alvara resistant to most potato diseases, among which:

• scab;
• rhizoctonia;
• cancer;
• alternaria.

The only thing to which the variety has no immunity is late blight of the upper, ground, part of the bush... The tubers are partially resistant to it.

Collection, storage and use of the crop

Harvesting takes place at the end of August - beginning of September... By this time, the tops should lie down and dry out. If it is still green, it should be mowed two weeks before harvesting. This will speed up the ripening of the tubers and the roughness of the skin.

Digging up potatoes is easy - tubers are located close to each other.

Important! After digging, dry the potatoes in the air for several hours, but not in the open sun.

Then the tubers are sorted into large, small, damaged and sown... First of all, you will need to use damaged potatoes, then small ones. The sorted potatoes are put in boxes and put into the cellar. The storage should have a temperature of + 2 ... + 4 ° С and a humidity of 90–92%. In such conditions, the tubers are stored until the next harvest, without losing their presentation and taste.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Alvar variety most gardeners chooses for the following positive qualities:

• formation of an early harvest;
• high final yield;
• stable growth;
• many tubers;
• root crops of excellent species quality and taste;
• high resistance to diseases;
• wide range of applications;
• long-term storage;
• minimal damage;
• long term cultivation without replacing seed potatoes.

Of the negative varietal qualities, the following are noted:

• instability to late blight;
• high price for planting material.

Read also:

Gypsy potatoes with purple skin and white flesh

High-yielding purple potato variety "Cornflower"

Which regions is best suited for

Potatoes perfectly adapted to growing in two regions of our country:

• North-West (Vologda, Kaliningrad, Kostroma, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Yaroslavl);
• North Caucasian (Adygea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Krasnodar Territory, Rostov, North Ossetia-Alania, Stavropol, Crimea).

Suitable for middle and southern regions of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus... The variety is recognized as the best among the red-skinned.

Farmers reviews

Potatoes have worked well among domestic and foreign gardeners.

Valentina, 54 years old, Voronezh: “We have sandy soil. We bought Alvara for planting, of course, fed him and tried to water him more often. The bushes tolerated the heat and sand well. We collected 4-5 large potatoes from one bush ".

Sergey, 34 years old, Krasnodar: “The Alvar variety proved to be resistant to our heat. This year I planted it in a fashionable way under hay, so as not to dig later. The potatoes began to grow well, watered abundantly, but infrequently. From fertilizers only during planting I sprinkled with ashes, and the Colorado potato beetle did not start in the hay ”.

Christina, 60 years old, Rostov region: “My dacha is located near Glevakha next to a pine forest, so the land is pure“ pine ”sand. We have been growing potatoes for about 15 years. We stopped at the German Alvar variety. We try to renew the seed material - we collect the boxes and sow them, so we get a stable harvest from them. The only thing is that we cannot get rid of phytophthora, it is rare, but it affects the bushes ".

Conclusion

European breeders recognized Alvar's German potatoes as the best red-skinned variety with yellow flesh. The plant is unpretentious in care, gives a stable and abundant harvest. During storage and cooking, tubers do not boil over and do not darken, they have excellent taste.