Why are gardeners so fond of growing "Cherry" potatoes: characteristics and description of the variety
Cherry potatoes are a variety grown by many gardeners. Its official name is Bellarosa, and potatoes are called "cherry" because of the pink color of the tubers. The culture is early ripening, undemanding to care. Resistant to potato crayfish and golden nematode. An attractive presentation, together with a high yield, allow the Cherry to be cultivated on an industrial scale.
The content of the article
What kind of potato is this
This early variety has an excellent tuber flavor.... They grow it both for their own use and for sale.
Origin and development
Bellarosa was bred in Germany breeders from EUROPLANT Pflanzenzucht GmbH. The potato met all expectations and quickly became popular among farmers.
Features:
Cherry potatoes are easy to distinguish from other varieties... Its signs:
The height of the upright bush is about 75 cm.- Leaves are slightly wavy at the edges, large.
- During the flowering period, corollas take on a red-purple hue.
- Round-oval tubers with smooth or slightly rough red skin. Weight - 117–207 g.
- The pulp is firm with a yellow or creamy tinge. During cooking, vegetables boil well and have a sweetish taste. The variety is early maturing, so the starch content in tubers is low: 12.6–15.7%.
- Seedlings always grow evenly, without slope.
A feature of Bellarosa is the lack of flowering in some cases... Many farmers who first encountered this worry that the plant is sick and will not give a good harvest. However, Cherry is an early variety: the plant simply does not have time to bloom, while the tubers are successfully formed. The absence of flowering practically does not affect the crop yield.
Reference. Another trait of the Cherry is the shedding of leaves and flowers. As a rule, potatoes grow at an air temperature no higher than + 21 ° C. In case of warmer weather, the plant gets rid of the ground parts.
Description and characteristics
The risk of crop loss is low when using standard farming practices.... Tubers ripen 50-60 days after planting. There are 8-10 potatoes in the bush.
The productivity of the variety is high: 169–326 c / ha. On the 45th day after emergence, 143–277 c / ha are harvested, on the 55th day - 170–385 c / ha. The maximum indicator (385 c / ha) was registered in the Tambov region.
How to grow
Bellarosa is unpretentious and does not require special attention to itself.
Terms and rules of landing
A few weeks before planting potatoes prepare tubers... They are placed in boxes or scattered in a dry, bright room at a temperature not exceeding + 15 ° C. Keep until the vegetables sprout.
The landing site is being prepared in the fall: the soil is loosened and fertilized with humus or compost (1 m2 add 5 kg). In the spring, the soil is dug up again.
Important! The ridge is chosen well lit, protected from strong winds.
During sowing take into account the size of the potatoes... The distance between the holes is left at 40 cm, between the rows - 90 cm each. The depth of the holes is 10 cm. They lay 1 tsp. potassium-phosphorus fertilizer, potatoes are planted and sprinkled with earth.
Planting times depend on the climatic conditions of a particular region and weather... The main thing is that the earth warms up to + 10 ... + 12 ° C, and the last spring frosts have passed.For example, in southern Russia, the culture is planted at the end of March, in the Moscow region and middle latitudes - in the last days of April, in the Urals and Siberia - in the first ten days of May.
Care
Cherry care standard... First of all, they regularly loosen the aisles, huddle bushes and remove weeds.
Bellarose will have enough rainwater, but thanks to additional and timely irrigation it will develop better. Therefore, during the growing season, plantings are irrigated 2-3 times.
Spray plants from pests only folk or biological substances. This variety rarely gets sick, therefore, for prevention, two-time treatment with any folk remedy is sufficient.
Feed the culture 3 times:
- as soon as the first shoots appeared, chicken droppings are used;
- before flowering, a mixture of urea and wood ash (100 g each) or potassium sulfate (10 g) is introduced;
- when the cherry begins to fade, add a mixture of 200 g of mullein and 40 g of superphosphate, diluted in 10 liters of water.
Top dressing is used to stimulate the growth of tubers, they are applied only after rain or watering.
Possible difficulties, diseases and pests
The main the nuances of growing cherries:
- plantings are kept clean, weeds are removed in time;
- after heavy rainfall and irrigation, the land is shallowly loosened;
- the bushes must be spilled 2 times per season, when the plants reach 15 cm in height and 2 weeks after, the rest of the procedures are carried out as needed;
- so that the potatoes are healthy, environmentally friendly and of high quality, organic matter diluted in water is introduced into the soil;
- insufficient plant development indicates a lack of nutrients, therefore, complex fertilizers are used.
Cherry is resistant to major diseases, but it is affected by waterlogging. late blight... With prolonged rains, the culture is treated with copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid.
During the flowering period, the vegetable is susceptible to attacks by ground beetles and a spotted potato bug.... Other dangerous pests are wireworms and Colorado beetles. Insecticides are used against insects.
Collection, storage and use of the crop
Collect tubers 60 days after germination.
Important! A sign of complete ripening of potatoes is yellowing tops.
Before digging out the tubers, the tops are cut up to 15 cm above the ground. This will ripen the vegetables and the skin will become much rougher. This will increase the transportability of the crop.
Harvested potatoes are dried for a week in the fresh air, select damaged and diseased tubers.
Keep the harvest in the cellar or basement. With constant air circulation and a temperature of about + 4 ° C, potatoes retain their presentation and taste for 7-8 months.
Cherry - a variety of table use, universal in cooking... Tubers do not boil during heat treatment, retain their taste.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main dignity of Bellarosa:
- early maturity - the first harvest is dug in 1.5 months;
- excellent presentation of tubers;
- stable yield due to the resistance of the variety to climatic and weather conditions;
- persistent immunity to major diseases;
- drought resistance: potatoes easily tolerate heat;
- long-term preservation of the crop;
- undemanding to the soil composition, the only exception is heavy clay soils;
- sweetish pulp taste.
disadvantages:
- tubers become smaller and develop poorly with a lack of lighting;
- at high humidity, potatoes are affected by late blight.
For which regions is it suitable
Cherry zoned for North-West, Volgo-Vyatka, Central Black Earth and Ural regions of the country, but it grows well in other areas. In warmer climates, farmers harvest 2 crops per season.
Reviews
Most growers are happy with the variety., which is confirmed by positive reviews on the network.
Elena, Tambov: “I have long wanted to start growing Cherries and have finally decided. The harvest was of high quality and rich.There were no problems with diseases and pests. The potatoes were not affected in any way by the drought. It is stored for a long time, and the taste is simply delicious! "
Grigory, Perm: “I decided to plant Bellarosa after seeing my neighbor's crop. It was the right decision. The tops are dense, the bushes are tall and strong. Even before the beginning of active flowering, he dug up young tubers. I liked their taste. During transportation, the presentation does not deteriorate at all ".
Olga, Nizhny Novgorod: “Once I noticed a beautiful potato with a pink skin on the market. I decided to try it. The whole family liked the taste, so they started looking for the name of the variety. It turned out to be Bellarosa (or Cherry). Planted - the results are pleasing. The tubers look like in the photo, even and round. The taste was even better than the purchased vegetables. ".
Conclusion
Cherry is a favorite potato variety among summer residents from different regions of Russia. The culture ripens quickly, is undemanding to care, is resistant to many diseases, consistently gives a rich harvest that is stored for a long time (keeping quality - 93%). The presentation and sweetish taste of the tubers make them versatile in cooking and suitable for growing for sale.