Early ripening variety "Empress" for sowing seeds

The Empress variety appeared on sale recently, but has already become popular among gardeners. A distinctive feature of the Empress is early maturation and resistance to potato diseases. Consider the characteristics and features of growing this variety.

Description of the variety

The early-ripening potato variety Empress was bred by Russian breeders. it unpretentious table potatoes... The variety is loved by many summer residents for its unpretentiousness and early maturity.

Origin and development

The originator of the variety is the Moscow company "SeDec"... The Empress is not listed in the State Register and is not zoned. Potatoes are grown from botanical seeds.

Chemical composition, trace elements and vitamins

Potatoes are grown both for private consumption and on an industrial scale.

Calorie content of raw potatoes - 77 kcal per 100 g.

The nutritional value:

• proteins - 2 g;
• fats - 0.4 g;
• carbohydrates - 16.3 g;
• dietary fiber - 1.4 g;
• water - 79 g.

Potatoes are rich in vitamins B6, C, macro- and microelements: potassium, silicon, cobalt, copper, molybdenum, chromium.

What are the benefits of the substances that make up potatoes:

1. Vitamin B6 improves metabolism and regulates the content of elements in the blood. Vitamin B6 deficiency symptoms are decreased appetite and dull skin.
2. Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron, participates in redox reactions. Lack of vitamin leads to frequent bleeding.
3. Potassium normalizes blood pressure. Takes part in the regulation of water, acid and electrolyte balance.
4. Copper helps the assimilation of proteins and carbohydrates, participates in the metabolism of iron. Due to copper, the tissues of the human body are enriched with oxygen. With an insufficient amount of an element in the body, the functioning of the cardiovascular system is disrupted.

Characteristics of tubers, description of appearance and yield

The tubers have a regular oval shape, yellow pulp and yellow rind... The eyes are not pronounced, which gives the tubers a neat appearance. On average, one potato weighs 70-150 g.

The bush is low, compact, 50 cm high. When planting, it is recommended to keep the distance between plants 10-15 cm. The underground part develops well, long, strong root shoots are formed on which tubers are formed.

The variety is early maturing. The first crop is harvested in 2.5 months... One bush forms about 8 tubers. The total yield is 300-400 centners per hectare.

Read also:

Table potato variety "Krepysh" for a temperate climate

High-yielding potato variety "Ermak"

Unpretentious, mid-late variety of Nikulinsky potatoes

Growing regions

Officially, the Empress variety is not zoned in any region.... But he was very fond of many summer residents. It takes only 2-3 warm months to grow, so it is cultivated in almost every region of Russia in the middle and south.

Difference from other varieties

A distinctive feature of the variety is harvesting from one bush twice... The first time is 2-3 months after sowing.The bush is carefully poured in and ripe tubers are selected. Sprinkle the roots with earth.

The second time - in late September - early October. On the same bush, new tubers are formed, which are dug out before the autumn frosts.

The double formation of tubers occurs due to the long standing of the plant tops. The shoots do not turn yellow and do not lodge, but continue to develop.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Before growing Empress potatoes, consider all the pros and cons of this variety.

Benefits:

• excellent taste;
• resistance to scab, late blight and nematode;
• double harvest;
• compactness of the bush.

disadvantages:

• laborious cultivation;
• low seed germination;
• seedlings are strongly stretched and lie down even on the sunniest windows - additional lighting is required.

Features of planting and growing

Sowing potatoes with botanical seeds begins in early April using the seedling method. The advantage of this method is that the end result is a clean crop without diseases and viruses..

Seeds for sowing are bought in specialized stores or prepared independently from the bulbs, which are formed after the flowering of potatoes.

Preparing for landing

Growing potatoes with seeds starts with seedlings... In the case of direct sowing of seeds into the soil, small tubers are obtained, suitable only for further propagation.

Seeds are harvested in advance:

1. In the last days of March, seeds are laid for germination - a damp cloth with seeds is placed in a plastic container.
2. The container is closed and sent to a warm place near the battery.
3. Open the container every day for a few minutes to ventilate.
4. If necessary, spray with water - the seeds should be moderately moist.

After the seeds germinate, they are planted in a seedling container filled with nutritious soil.

Important! The seeds are planted in loose soil. Adding sand is not recommended.

Before sowing, the soil is compacted and moistened... After sowing, moisten again with warm water from a spray bottle and put in a warm, sunny place. Seedlings are watered and loosened as needed, fertilized with complex fertilizer for seedlings.

The first shoots appear in a few days. A month later, the seedlings are ready for planting in open ground.

Timing, scheme and landing rules

Seedlings are planted in open ground from the beginning of Maywhen the earth has already warmed up.

Soil preparation:

• for planting, they choose a place where nightshades did not grow last year in order to avoid contamination of seedlings with diseases and viruses from the soil;
• in the fall, they dig up the soil with the introduction of organic fertilizers;
• in the spring, ash and complex fertilizer for potatoes are added by the firms "Fasco", "Fertika", "Ogorodnik".

Insofar as The Empress forms small, compact bushes, the row spacing is left 40-50 cm, and between the plants - 10-15 cm.

Potato seedling planting rules:

• when planting, deepen the shoot, leaving only the upper leaves on the surface;
• carefully lay long stems at an angle and sprinkle with earth so that they do not break;
• after planting, water the garden;
• organize a greenhouse to protect plants from frost, pests and sunburn.

The covering material is removed when the seedlings have completely taken root and the threat of night frosts disappears.

Growing features

Growing potatoes from seed significantly increases yields and the quality of the tubers.

The first crop (mini-tubers) grown from seed is called the first generation. It has a pronounced taste. In the first year, there is little crop for food. Basically, all tubers are left for seeds and planted in the second year.

Attention! Potato tops begin to grow at + 5 ° C, the optimum temperature for development is + 18 ° C ... + 25 ° C. The culture is afraid of low temperatures, at -1 ° C the aboveground part turns black and dies off.

Growing Potatoes The Empress requires:

• frequent loosening;
• timely watering;
• hilling;
• breaking the crust formed on the soil after rain;
• frequent weeding;
• spraying;
• dressing.

Watering mode

The Empress needs to be watered during dry periods... Abundant watering is required during the budding and flowering period.

Top dressing

If the plants turn yellow and grow slowly, they are fed liquid complex fertilizer - the Kemira preparation granules are diluted in water and watered with potatoes. This saturates the soil with nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.

During the period of bud formation, make solution of 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and 3 tbsp. l. ash in 10 liters of water - 500 ml per plant. During flowering, dissolve 2 tbsp in a bucket of water. l. superphosphate and cow dung and watered with 500 ml per bush.

Disease and pest control

Potatoes Empress resistant to:

• potato nematode;
• fungal diseases;
• common scab.

When the appearance Colorado potato beetle bushes are treated with a special preparation "Aktara", and for the prevention of late blight - "Fitosporin".

Over time, tubers accumulate disease, and the yield begins to decline. This is the reason for the renewal of the seed.

Growing difficulties

The Empress's seed tubers cannot be found on sale, even in the SeDec catalog they are not. You will have to buy botanical seeds in bags and grow in seedlings.

Difficulties arise already at the stage of growing seedlings:

• half of the seeds do not germinate;
• many of those that have sprung up begin to darken from the root and perish;
• the seedlings are too stretched.

Seedling maintenance, watering and installing an additional light source will help solve problems.

The reasons for the slow development of the Empress in the open field:

• violation of the rules of crop rotation;
• not enough fertilizer applied;
• plants are damaged by frost;
• insufficient loosening;
• a lot of weeds;
• the appearance of pests and diseases.

Harvesting and storage

To prevent tubers from withering and sore, as well as to preserve good seed when laying for storage, a number of rules must be observed.

Important! For a stable transfer of long winter storage, the tubers must be ripe, with a dense skin.

How and when to collect

Empress's harvest carried out in two stages:

1. For eating — in the middle of summer, about 2 months after planting. Carefully dig in the bush, take out ripe tubers, sprinkle the roots with earth.
2. For storage — autumn, late September - early October.

Storage features and keeping quality of the variety

Before storing, the potatoes are well dried and ventilated.... It is necessary to store potatoes in a dark place at a temperature of + 3 ° C. For these purposes, use a basement or cellar.

The variety is distinguished by good keeping quality during winter storage and retains excellent taste until spring.

Tips from experienced gardeners

Experienced gardeners recommend when growing the Empress:

• the seedlings are first placed in a greenhouse to get used to the growing conditions, and only then in open ground;
• after the beginning of flowering, it is better not to use complex fertilizers with nitrogen, as this will limit the development of tubers;
• when replanting potatoes in the same place, the amount of dressing should be increased.

Reviews about the variety Empress

Many gardeners experiment with the cultivation of this variety and share their feedback.

Olga, Sosnovy Bor: “I saw by chance a description of the Empress potato variety and a photo of compact bushes, and decided to plant it, since the garden is small. The potato grows very smooth and beautiful, but voids are formed, however, not much. More resistant to scab than Adretta ".

Mark, Samara: “I grew the early ripe Empress variety from seeds. Of course, this is not an easy task. First, he germinated seeds, planted them in seedling boxes, like tomatoes. At the end of April, I planted seedlings in box-beds in a greenhouse, then transferred the seedlings to open ground. Care is normal. In the first season, I collected all tubers, even small ones.It is very important to keep the seed until spring. This year I planted potatoes, planted 4-5 at a time in a hole. The result justified all my efforts. We managed to collect a 10-liter bucket of excellent potatoes from three bushes. ".

Conclusion

Growing potatoes of the Empress variety is possible only with the help of seeds. This is a troublesome activity that requires patience and time. But after a year, the work is justified by a high harvest. And most importantly, the tubers are healthy, and you don't need to think about the periodic renewal of the seed.