Vegetable growing » Potatoes
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Kira Stoletova
Delphine potatoes first appeared in Germany. In terms of genetic characteristics, it resembles a variety such as Alvara. In just a few years it has gained worldwide fame and is used in all spheres of human activity. The characteristics of this variety of root vegetable are no worse than the most famous and unique types of potatoes.
Description of Delphine potatoes
Description of the variety
Potato bushes are of medium height, semi-erect, with an intermediate growth pattern. The stems are medium thick and uncolored. The corollas of the flowers are white, with wide lobes. The leaves are medium in size, dissected, dark green in color. The waviness of the edge is absent or very weakly expressed. The total yield reaches 540 c/ha.
The skin of potato tubers of the "Dolphin" variety is smooth, yellow in color, the shape of the tubers is round-oval or elongated. The mass of the tuber ranges from 100 to 110 g. The pulp is light yellow. Starch content 11–14%. The variety is early ripening, the period from germination to technical maturity is 70–75 days.
Growing rules
First you need to calibrate all the fruits. Only those that are small in size are selected and their weight is about 80 g. The distance between the bushes should be 70 cm, and between the rows 40 cm. It is recommended to bury the seed material to a depth of 8-10 cm. It is recommended to treat the sprouted planting tubers with chemicals, which enhance growth and prevent the occurrence of diseases.
You should adhere to the basic rule of landing Dolphin. Only soils with a light structure are selected. The site must always be within reach of the sun's rays. Regular heavy watering or irrigation is not required. All you need to do is regularly loosen the soil, remove weeds and hill up the beds.
Don't forget about regular feeding. The root system must be fed with organic matter. You can use bird or cow droppings. But the stem itself needs to be fed with mineral fertilizers. Before harvesting, it is necessary to remove all the tops and treat the soil with special chemicals. This will prevent rotting of the tops and contamination of the soil. But it is better not to use nitrogen fertilizers, because they allow fruits to accumulate negative substances that can affect human health.
Advantages of potatoes of the Dolphin variety
Potatoes "Dolphin" have a positive characteristic, which suggests the following advantages of the variety:
- high-quality harvest of early vegetable products;
- good taste;
- smooth tubers with small eyes;
- marketability 88–96%;
- high keeping quality (90–99%);
- guaranteed nematode resistance of the plant.
According to the originator, resistance to wrinkled, striped mosaic and leaf curl is observed. According to the All-Russian Research Institute of Phytopathology, the plant is susceptible to root blight and moderately susceptible to late blight on the tops.
Diseases and pests
Potatoes belong to the nightshade family. Consequently, it is susceptible to diseases and pests of this plant species.
Potato cancer and black cancer - these diseases are not dangerous, the variety is resistant to their carriers.
In rare cases, it falls ill with late blight; more often it is damaged by scab, potato nematode, and macrosporiosis. Viral diseases are transmitted to the plant through the seed fund.
Since the safety of seeds in the Skazka potato is high, if storage conditions are observed and measures are taken to prevent viral diseases, viruses are practically not a threat to it.
Read more about Alternaria, Fusarium, Late Blight and Verticillium.
Pests also “bypass it.” Timely spraying allows you to completely get rid of the Colorado potato beetle, wireworm, mole cricket and potato moth.
Peter I brought potatoes from Holland, Catherine II made a lot of efforts to ensure that they took root in Rus'. Russian scientists are creating new modern varieties that are becoming known and loved by many peoples.
There is not a single country in the world where potatoes are not grown. But nowhere is he loved as much as in Russia. It’s not for nothing that we call potatoes the second bread.
Landing Features
Early ripening table potatoes "Dolphin" are perfectly adapted to cultivation in most regions of our country. If planting dates are observed and grown correctly, it is possible to harvest two crops of high-quality and tasty potatoes in one season. Preparations for planting should begin one and a half months before the actual planting of the tubers:
- potato tubers intended for planting should be moved from storage to a warmer place and sorted; all damaged tubers, as well as potatoes that have even slight signs of pest or disease damage, are subject to rejection;
- in order to disinfect planting material, it is necessary to treat the tubers with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- It is recommended to carry out landscaping, as well as germination of tubers; high-quality planting material is of medium size and strong sprouts, the length of which does not exceed 3.0–3.6 cm.
Planting potatoes is done as follows:
- potatoes are planted in heated soil (the beds are prepared in advance);
- It is recommended to apply fertilizers in the form of manure when deep digging the soil in the autumn; the application of basic fertilizers at the planting stage is carried out directly into the planting holes;
- The distance between rows should be approximately 70 cm, and between bushes - 35–40 cm.
With proper planting, seedlings appear in about ten days.
Diseases and pests
The Dauphine variety is famous for its resistance to diseases and pests. However, with improper care, the plant may be damaged by scab, late blight, and the Colorado potato beetle. To eliminate this possibility, it is advisable to disinfect the tubers before planting. If it was not possible to avoid the disease, you should use treatment with specialized fungicides, and fight insects manually, collecting beetles and caterpillars from bushes and removing larvae on the leaves, or use insecticides. Depending on the circumstances, preventive spraying can be carried out before the plant buds.
By choosing the Dauphine variety, the gardener will not be left without a harvest.
Growing potatoes is not as labor-intensive and troublesome a process as it might seem at first glance. The main thing is to make the right choice of variety. Subject to simple planting requirements and proper care, Dauphiné potatoes will delight gardeners with a high yield and excellent taste.
Rules of care
Growing Dolphin potatoes is not particularly difficult. With proper care it is possible to obtain very high quality products. The main stages of potato care include fertilizing, hilling and watering:
- The first feeding is carried out when the height of the potato bush is 15 cm using a solution of granulated urea at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. for 10 liters of water;
- the second feeding is carried out during the flowering phase using potassium fertilizers in the form of 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate and 3 tbsp. l. ash per 10 liters of water;
- the third feeding is carried out at the end of the flowering stage using a solution of 2 tbsp. l. superphosphate and a glass of bird droppings per 10 liters of water;
- It is recommended to hill up potato bushes twice per season: the first hilling is carried out at a plant height of 8–10 cm, and the second is carried out during the bud formation phase;
- in hot climates, potatoes should be watered deeply, about four times a month;
- To protect against diseases and pests, you need to use Decis, Fastak, Ratibor, Arrivo or Bankol.
Diseases and pests
Even if a potato variety with very good disease resistance has been selected for planting, a number of protective measures will need to be taken to prevent damage to the future harvest.
New products from domestic and foreign developers sometimes surprise with their capabilities, but over time, even they can become victims of various diseases and insidious pests.
The most dangerous diseases for potatoes are:
- late blight;
- scab;
- brown rot;
- fusarium;
- Phomasis;
- ring rot;
- viruses.
Almost all types of potatoes are affected by the Colorado potato beetle. Breeders and farmers try everything they can to overcome this insect. Several types of root crops have already been bred that are not of interest to this pest. However, as experienced gardeners note, these tubers have slightly worse taste characteristics and do not boil well. Therefore, many summer residents prefer to treat their plantings with special preparations or use alternative control methods. It is constantly necessary to collect beetles and their larvae, which are deposited on the lower part of the leaves. Egg maturation lasts from 7 to 17 days, depending on the weather. For preventive purposes, spraying is carried out twice a season with any preparation intended to combat the Colorado potato beetle.
To avoid the spread of diseases and viruses on the site, it is necessary to strictly follow the rules of crop rotation. It is recommended to plant marigolds near the potatoes, which will help repel pests and protect the plantings.
Reviews from gardeners
The “Dolphin” variety is a promising one and is widely used by both vegetable growers who grow potatoes in their own plots and small farmers. Positive reviews about potatoes of this variety were received not only from potato growers at home, but also in our country.
The variety is simply ideal for making puree, which turns out very white, fluffy and tasty. During the cooking process, potatoes do not darken and almost never become overcooked. But the planting of seed material of this variety needs to be done more sparingly than for other early varieties, since about 15 fairly large potato tubers are formed in each nest. It is best to stick to a 70/32 x 35 cm sowing pattern with tubers buried 8–10 cm.
Advantages and disadvantages
"Dolphine" is drought-resistant . Versatile for culinary use. It was developed for sale in large retail chains. Excellent pre-packaging preparation - washable, polished. Received a high rating according to all standards of suitability for industrial processing.
Unlike Dutch varieties they are not prone to rapid degeneration ; high-quality seed material can be obtained for up to 7 years from the grown crop.
During prolonged rainy weather, tubers accumulate excess moisture, which reduces shelf life.
Disease Prevention
At the moment when breeders developed this potato variety, they took care of its resistance to disease. There are high rates of resistance to viruses and fungal infections. Also, this potato variety is not susceptible to late blight or nematodes. Colorado beetles and aphids will not affect the plant if careful preventative measures are taken.
Dolphin is a Belarusian table potato variety (Solanum tuberosum) of early ripening. Brought out by employees of the Republican Unitary Enterprise "NPC NAS of Belarus for Potato and Fruit and Vegetable Growing." In 2002, it was included in the state register of breeding achievements of the Russian Federation in two regions: Central (Bryansk, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula regions) and Central Black Earth (Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Tambov regions ). It is distinguished by early ripening, the formation of a large number of tubers, drought resistance, and high yield.
It’s worth saying right away that there is another variety with a similar name - “Dolphine”. This is a completely different potato and has nothing to do with our hero.
The time from the appearance of full shoots to ripening is 60−75 days; the first digging can be done already on the 45th day of the growing season.
Plant of medium height, intermediate type. Stems are semi-erect. The leaves are medium sized, dark green in color. The leaf is large. The waviness of the edge of the leaf blade is very weak or absent altogether. The corolla is medium in size and white in color.
The root system of the Dolphin is well developed, in one nest 14-16 medium-sized tubers are formed, weighing 80-132 grams each, there are very few small things. The tubers are aligned and have an oval-round shape. The peel is yellow, smooth to the touch. The pulp is light yellow in color. The eyes are small, inconspicuous, and lie shallow.
According to the results of state tests, the marketable potato yield is 170−256 c/ha, at the level of the Bryansk Early variety and 62 c/ha more than the Zhukovsky Ranni standard. During the first digging, on the 45th day of the plant growing season, 82−195 c/ha were collected, which is comparable to Izor standards and 26 c/ha more than the results of Zhukovsky early. During the second digging, on the 55th day after full germination, 132−215 c/ha were obtained, which is at the level of Izor’s indicators and 43 c/ha higher than the Zhukovsky early standards. The maximum yield was recorded in the Tula region - 295 c/ha were collected there, 159 c/ha more than the results of Pushkinets. According to the originator, the potential yield can reach up to 540 c/ha! The marketability of tubers is 88−96%, at the level of established standards. Keeping quality is excellent - 90−99%.
