Fertilizers for potatoes - the norm, application

Potato is a culture for loose soil rich in organic and nutrient minerals. The bulk of the root system is located in the layer up to 20 cm deep, which means that the system of basic and preplant tillage should be directed to this layer.

When fertilizing potatoes, it must be taken into account that the formation is 300 kg of tubers per acre, and this is the crop that we should have in gardens, potatoes absorb 1.2-1.7 kg of nitrogen from the soil, 0.3-0.4 kg of phosphorus, 2 -3 kg of potassium, 0.6-1.2 kg of sulfur, 0.3-0.6 kg of magnesium and 0.6-1.0 kg of calcium.

It is also very important to provide plants with such important trace elements as copper, zinc, boron, manganese, etc. It is due to the introduction of fertilizers for potatoes that we get a surcharge of 35-40% of the crop.

Organic and mineral fertilizers for potatoes

The most efficient potato fertilization system combines the application of organic and mineral fertilizers.

Organic fertilizers improve the agrophysical properties of the soil, namely: increase water permeability and water absorption capacity, reduce the bulk density of the soil, provide looseness of the soil throughout the growing season. The use of organic fertilizers for potatoes increases the microbiological activity of the soil, the elements of mineral nutrition are less washed out into the lower soil horizons. Organic fertilizers contain all the nutrients necessary for the growth and development of potatoes, in addition, the ratio between N: P: K almost perfectly matches the requirements of the crop. Scientifically based norms of organic fertilizers improve the consumer qualities of tubers, in particular, increase the content of starch, protein, vitamins and antioxidants in them, increase the taste of potato dishes

However, organic fertilizers cannot fully provide plants with nutrients at the beginning of the growing season. If the soils of your zone are poor in microelements, then this feature is also observed in organic fertilizers.

Most common organic fertilizers for potatoes

The most common organic fertilizers are manure, bird droppings, various composts made on the basis of manure and slurry using fillers - peat, plant residues, straw, household waste. Green manures occupy the special place among organic fertilizers. Their use eliminates the costs of manufacturing, storage and transportation, which are inevitable when applying traditional organic fertilizers. The biological and economic efficiency of green manure depends on the green manure crop and the method of cultivation. The most common and available for use are winter rye, oilseed radish, white mustard, yellow and narrow-leaved lupine, fodder peas, etc. Green manures are grown in the area where the next year there will be potatoes, when they gain sufficient green mass, they are embedded in the soil.

Economical ways to apply mineral fertilizers for potatoes

It is very difficult to grow the stable potato crop without the use of mineral fertilizers. Mineral fertilizers make it possible to provide plants with available nutrients at the beginning of the growing season, to balance the ratio between nutrients, taking into account their content in the soil, organic fertilizers and green manure. They can be applied locally to the ridges or holes at planting and thus reduce the application rate without reducing efficiency.

Foliar fertilizers should be widely used, together with plant protection products, as an effective and low-cost way to increase the yield of tubers and improve their quality.

Application rates of mineral fertilizers

It is most effective to use complete complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, sulfur, magnesium, potassium and trace elements: ammonium nitrate phosphate fertilizer, nitrophoska, or prepared mixtures of simple fertilizers. It is very important to correctly determine the rate of application of mineral fertilizers. The simplest method for determining application rates has been established on the basis of numerous experiments carried out in scientific institutions in various soil and climatic zones of Ukraine. The application rates of mineral fertilizers are given in table 1.

Application rates of NPK in various soil and climatic conditions (kg / acre)

Feature of applying organic and mineral fertilizers

If mineral fertilizers are applied together with organic fertilizers, their norms are reduced by 20-30%, and if applied locally, they are halved. When using the most common fertilizer, nitroammophoska, it is applied taking into account the content of each element, and potassium magnesia must also be added to balance potassium. On soddy-podzolic soils, the application rate of nitroammophoska with the spreading method is 6-8 kg per acre, on gray and dark gray, podzolized soils - 4-6 kg, on black soils - 3-4 kg with the addition of 1-1.5 kg of potassium magnesia.