PLANTING PRACTICES

• Plant well-sprouted tubers and ensure that sprouts are pointing upwards.
• Potatoes are grown from tubers and are better planted in ridge furrows.
• Plan the tuber seeds 5cm deep in the ground and 30 cm apart from each other along the ridge.
• The tuber needs to have at least one ‘eye’ or sprout.  Leave the tubers in a shady spot for a week or two before planting to harden shoots. 
• Space potatoes at 90cm (for table potato) or 75cm (for seed potato) between rows (ridge furrows) and 30cm between plants in a row. 
• Plant the potatoes soon after the 1^st rains
• The crop is best grown in a pure stand.

Fertilizer Application Rates:

• During planting, sprinkle first D Compound and cover the fertilizer thoroughly with about 5cm of soil.
• Apply fertilizer within 1 week of planting
• The rate must be as follows: 200kg/ha
• Apply 15 grams per plant once, placed 5cm away from plant/tuber seed.
• You can also use manure
• After 3 weeks from emergence, top-dress the crop with CAN at the rate of 200kg/ha.

Note:

• Do NOT use UREA Fertilizer because it has excess nitrogen should be avoided as it encourages vegetative growth at the expense of tuber formation

Water Requirement

• Potatoes require 850 – 1,200 mm rainfall during the growing period
• Low and fluctuating moisture contribute to scab, hollow heart, low dry matter, low tuber set and mis-shaped tubers
• Furrow and drip irrigation is recommended during early and late hours to reduce evaporation

Managing of Weeds

• Adequate control of weeds is required to ensure high yields
• Manual weeding
• Weeding is done after germination to avoid uprooting of seed tubers

• 1^st Weeding: 1 – 2 weeks after emergence
• 2^nd Weeding: 4 – 5 weeks after crop emergence

• Do Not weed when the soil is wet to avoid compaction
• After the plants have completely covered up the space in between the rows, weeds are suppressed

Weed free Potato crop