April is here, and it is the time to plant sweet potatoes. Many people actually don’t know how to grow sweet potatoes. Either the yield cannot increase, or the sweet potatoes are very small.
The little farmer girl will explain to you how to grow sweet potatoes!
The following is how to grow sweet potatoes, I hope it will be helpful to you.
Preliminary points:
"Before and after Grain Rain, plant melons and beans."
In the right season, planting suitable crops is the prerequisite to ensure a good harvest, sweet potatoes The same goes for planting seedlings. We should adopt timely planting and correct management methods to ensure a good harvest.
After entering May, the planting time of spring sweet potato seedlings has basically reached the optimal planting time, but the temperature environment and geological conditions in different regions are different, and there may be certain differences.
But basically before June, the spring sweet potato planting time is basically over.
The planting time of spring sweet potatoes can be from April 25th to May 25th. The most suitable time is May 5th-15th. The specific time depends on the local ambient temperature and climate change. change.
In the Yangtze River Basin, it is best to grow seedlings in a greenhouse first and then take cuttings after the cold spring.
April is most suitable, and early May at the latest. If it is planted too late, it will grow vines and produce few potatoes.
When planting sweet potato seedlings, it is best to choose a cloudy day when the soil is neither dry nor wet. It is best to plant in the afternoon on a sunny day when the temperature is high. It is not advisable to plant sweet potatoes after heavy rain, as this can easily cause firewood. You should wait until the weather has cleared after the rain and the soil moisture is suitable before planting.
It is also not advisable to irrigate after planting. Watering after planting or planting after heavy rain will have a higher survival rate. However, potato seedlings often do not grow well for a long time because the soil is saturated with water and the soil temperature is too high. Cold, at the same time, the soil becomes more compact, the oxygen content in the soil is reduced, hindering the development of the root system, and slowing growth.
If there is a long drought and lack of rain, you can consider drought-resistant planting, dig a hole and pour water, cover it with thin soil after the water dries, and plant the seedlings firmly after planting, so that the roots are in close contact with the soil and survive early. If the seedlings are watered after planting, they need to be covered with dry soil to moisturize the surface.
Seedling raising method:
Sweet potato seedlings need to be raised 2 months before transplanting and planting, that is, spring potatoes start raising seedlings in late January, autumn potatoes start raising seedlings in mid-to-late June, early winter Potato seedlings are grown in early to mid-August. The seedlings can be raised in one time or propagated in batches.
Seed selection, breeding, purification and rejuvenation are carried out every year. Seeds should be selected in fields free of viral diseases and scab disease and of the same variety. Choose medium-sized seed potatoes with long, even shapes, no ridges, straight skin, smooth skin, and no disease or insect spots or scars.
Before planting, soak the seed potatoes in 1.0 copper sulfate solution or 2.0 sodium hydroxide solution for 5 to 10 minutes. You can also soak the seed potatoes for 2 hours with Bt, Beauveria bassiana and other biological agents allowed for organic production. It is best to The virus-free seedlings are propagated under insect-free conditions in gauze greenhouses.
The base fertilizer of the seedbed should be sufficient. Generally, 500-1000kg of self-retting organic fertilizer and 50kg of mineral potassium and magnesium fertilizer should be applied per 667 square meters. Before sowing, use lime sulfur mixture or lime to disinfect the seedbed or shed.
Planting methods:
There are many methods of planting sweet potatoes, there are mainly the following five planting methods, and the horizontal planting method is generally better.
Horizontal planting method: The seedlings are 20 to 30 centimeters long, and each section of the seedlings is placed in a shallow soil layer about 5 centimeters below the soil surface. The conditions for potato formation in this method are basically the same. Most of the nodes can take root and produce potatoes, with few empty nodes. The potato formation is more and even. It is suitable for plots with good water and fertilizer conditions. This method is often used in large-scale high-yield fields in various places.
However, its drought resistance is poor. If it encounters adverse environmental conditions such as high temperature, drought, and poor soil, it is prone to missing plants or weak seedlings.
In addition, due to the large number of potatoes, it is difficult to ensure that each potato piece has sufficient nutrition, resulting in too many small potatoes and affecting the yield. If you are producing fresh potatoes for consumption, having more small potatoes will make them easier to sell.
Oblique transplanting method: suitable for planting short seedlings, the seedlings are 15 to 20 cm long, the seedlings are planted into the soil about 10 cm, the seedlings are left on the ground for 5 to 10 cm, and the slope of the potato seedlings is about 45 degrees.
The characteristic is that it is easy to plant. The upper nodes where the potato seedlings are inserted into the soil have more and larger tubers, while the lower nodes have fewer and smaller tubers, and the tuber sizes are not uniform.
The advantages are good drought resistance, high survival rate, few and concentrated tubers per plant, and suitable for mountainous areas and dry lands lacking water sources. Through appropriate dense planting and strengthening of fertilizer and water management, we can strive for larger potatoes and obtain high yields.
Boat-shaped planting method: The base of the seedling is 2 to 3 cm in the shallow soil layer, and the middle nodes are slightly deeper, within 4 to 6 cm of soil layer. Suitable for plots with fertile soil, deep soil layers, and good water and fertilizer conditions.
Because there are many nodes in the soil, it has the advantages of horizontal insertion and oblique insertion.
The disadvantage is that the nodes that are deeply embedded in the soil can easily become empty nodes without potato production due to improper management or heavy soil. Therefore, be careful not to insert the middle nodes too deep, and the sandy soil can be deeper. , the clay soil should be shallower.
Direct planting method: Use short seedlings to insert directly into the soil, and insert them into the soil at 2 to 4 nodes. The advantages are high yield of large potatoes, drought resistance, quick seedling growth, and suitable for hillside and arid and barren plots. The disadvantage is that the number of tubers is small, so dense planting should be used to ensure yield.
Pressing method of vine planting: Press all the removed potato seedlings into the soil, leaving the potato leaves exposed on the surface. After planting, compact them with soil and then water them.
The advantage is that the tip is removed before cutting, which destroys the apical advantage, which can cause the axillary buds of the cuttings to sprout early, sprout branches and take root to form potatoes. Because the stems are more leafy, it promotes more and larger potatoes. And it’s not easy to grow too long. The disadvantage is that it has poor drought resistance, is labor-intensive, and is only suitable for planting in small areas.
Management during the seedling period:
During the sweet potato seedling cultivation period, top-dress the fertilizer in a timely manner according to the seedling condition. The fertilizer should be organically certified or bio-organic fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) that has been approved by the organic certification agency. The total elemental nutrient content is ≥6, and the organic matter content is ≥40). The total amount of top dressing during the seedling period is generally 250 kg per 667 square meters.
In the first "red bud" stage, thin fertilizer and water are generally applied; when the seedlings are 10 to 13 cm tall, the second top dressing can be carried out. After each application of fertilizer, the seedlings should be washed with clean water to prevent fertilizer from adhering to the seedlings and causing seedling burning.
The soil cultivation can be carried out in 2 to 3 times. When the seedling height is about 10 cm, the first soil cultivation can be carried out. The second soil cultivation can be carried out every 7 days, and the maximum soil cultivation is 3 to 5 cm.
It is best to use fertile loose fine soil mixed with burnt mud ash or decomposed compost, and spread it evenly into the seedbed.
Cultivation of soil can be combined with the application of liquid fertilizer. The soil should be cultivated first and then fertilized, so that the soil and the base of the seedlings are closely combined to facilitate early and multiple new roots.
After sowing, spray Bt and other organic production-licensed biological inoculants and 300 times tea bran water once every 15 days, sprinkle plant ash once; and put sex hormone traps around the seedbed or outside the nursery shed. device.
In seedbed management, measures such as heat preservation, moisture retention, and ventilation should also be taken, focusing on temperature. Before the seedlings emerge, cover them with straw curtains at night and keep the bed temperature at 25-35°C.
After emergence, the temperature should be controlled at 20-25°C to prevent the seedlings from burning at high temperatures. If the temperature inside the film exceeds 30°C, ventilation and heat dissipation should be carried out in time to prevent the seedlings from burning. When the cold wave comes, insulation work should be done well.
Seed potatoes are generally not watered before emergence to facilitate high temperature germination, disease prevention and emergence. If the seedbed is too dry, use a sprayer to spray clean water on the seedbed.
After emergence, pay attention to the humidity of the seedbed. When the seedbed turns white, water it in time to moisten the bed soil and sprinkle thin fertilizer water to promote the growth of potato seedlings; when the seedbed is too wet, remove the film in time for ventilation.
Cultivation in greenhouses:
Plant 2,500 to 4,000 plants per acre. Within a certain density, the general yield increases as the density of planting increases, and the rate of large and medium potatoes increases with the increase in density. The degree of dense planting decreases as the degree of close planting increases. If it is used for food and large potatoes are not needed, it can be properly planted densely and small and medium-sized potatoes can be harvested, which is easy to sell.
Generally, it is most suitable to have a ridge width of 1 meter, a ridge height of 25 to 35 centimeters, and about 3,300 plants per acre. Pay attention to the consistent spacing between plants. If the spacing between plants is uneven, it is easy for two plants that are close together to become weak plants.