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Treatment of potatoes against all kinds of diseases and pests This is an extremely important procedure that should not be ignored. Every year, gardeners lose up to 60% of their harvest from fungal diseases, as well as from attacks by both underground and above-ground insects. Faced with these problems, they begin to look for a solution that will help rid potatoes of these scourges. Someone begins to use various folk recipes to protect potatoes, while others buy ready-made chemical preparations, which include the drug Prestige. Processing potatoes before planting Using this tool has its pros and cons. We will talk about them in this article.
Description of the drug Prestige
Prestige refers to chemical treatments for potatoes and other vegetable crops. This drug has a wide spectrum of action, which has a variety of effects on plants:
- Insecticidal, which allows you to protect potato plants from lepidopteran and homoptera insects, the Colorado potato beetle, aphids, wireworms, psyllids, leafhoppers, midges, and May beetle larvae.
- Fungicidal, which reduces the likelihood of potatoes and other vegetable crops becoming infected with the most common diseases, such as powdery mildew, rot, mold, scab, septoria and leaf rust.
- "Anti-stress effect", which contributes to the accelerated development and growth of the processed crop. In addition, tubers treated with Prestige will have faster germination and shoot formation.
- Increase in marketable tubers, as well as overall yield.
Composition of Prestige
The main substances through which the Prestige effect is achieved are:
- Imidacloprid is from the chloronicotinyl class. Imidacloprid is distinguished by its excellent systemic and contact action. The concentration of imidacloprid will be 140 g/l. Its main effect is associated with blocking the transmission of nerve impulses to postsynaptic membrane receptors. For humans, this substance is not very dangerous, but for insects, even a small concentration is destructive. Imidacloprid breaks down quite quickly into individual elements, so by the time the crop is dug up, it will no longer be in the tubers.
- Pencykuron, a contact pesticide. Pencykuron, which is responsible for the pesticide effect, inhibits the biosynthetic processes in the body of the fungus and inhibits their germination. The concentration of this substance in the preparation is 150 g/l. The breakdown of the pesticide into individual non-toxic substances occurs in 40–50 days.
Due to such periods of decomposition of pencycuron, the use of Prestige is possible only on vegetable crops with a medium or long ripening period.
The principle of action of the drug Prestige
After planting potatoes treated with this drug, the active substances react with soil moisture and are released. Thus, they surround the potato tuber with a protective halo. With further growth of the plant, the active substances no longer come only from the treated tuber, but also through the soil around it. As a result, a systematic and uniform distribution of substances occurs throughout all vegetative organs of the plant. This distribution allows for reliable protection of plants and potato tubers from various pests throughout the growing season.
In addition to the protective effect, the drug has a general strengthening effect on potato plants. Plants treated with this drug are much better able to withstand unfavorable conditions such as:
- drought;
- heat
- sudden change in temperature;
- lack of light.
Period of activity of the drug Prestige
The general period of preservation of activity of the drug Prestige is about 2 months after treatment of the tubers. In this case, the pronounced fungicidal effect will last from 30 to 40 days. This period of activity of Prestige makes it possible to provide powerful protection to potato plants throughout their growth.
The indicated values are general in nature. For different pests, the activity time of Prestige protection will be different:
- throughout the entire growth period, the potatoes will be reliably protected from wireworms, scab and rhizoctonite;
- within 37 days after tuber germination, plants will receive protection from the Colorado potato beetle;
- 39 days after germination, the potato plant will be protected from aphids.
Safety precautions when working with the drug Prestige and its toxicity
When working with any chemical, including Prestige, safety precautions must be observed. When using it, the gardener must have the following personal protective equipment:
- gloves;
- respirator or gauze bandage.
As for the toxicity of the drug, it definitely exists. The instructions for the drug indicate that it belongs to toxicity class 3, that is, it is moderately dangerous.
It contains pesticides that take time to break down and be eliminated. That is why it is forbidden to treat early varieties of potatoes with Prestige. Tests carried out in laboratory conditions revealed that zero concentration of the drug in tubers is achieved only after 50 - 60 days from the date of treatment.
Pros and cons of the drug Prestige
The following advantages of the drug Prestige can be highlighted:
- harmful effects on pests and insects;
- protection against fungal and infectious diseases;
- strengthening plant resistance to unfavorable conditions;
- acceleration of germination of tubers;
- improvement of plant growth;
- strengthening processes associated with plant photosynthesis.
In addition to the above advantages, the drug also has disadvantages:
- toxicity;
- price.
How to use Prestige
The drug Prestige is used for pre-sowing protective treatment of potato tubers.
Prestige can be used to protect potato tubers in two ways:
- Pre-treatment. With this method, potato tubers must be treated with Prestige 2 or 3 weeks before planting in the ground. It is necessary to treat potato tubers with Prestige only in a dry room, in which there is no drinking water or food. Before processing, the tubers must be thoroughly dried, spread on film and generously sprayed with a working solution, which is prepared by mixing 10 ml of the drug with 200 ml of water. This amount is enough to process 10 kg of planting material. If you need to process a smaller or larger number of tubers, then the proportions must be reduced or increased accordingly. The solution must be prepared immediately before treatment, without subsequent storage. After processing, the tubers should be left for germination. Treated tubers should only be carried or transported in sealed bags.
- Treatment before planting in the ground. The working solution for this method is prepared according to the same proportion: 10 ml of the drug per 200 ml of water. Before processing, the tubers must be laid out on film and evenly sprayed with Prestige solution. You should not plant them immediately after treatment; they should dry out a little. This is done so that the solution has time to be absorbed into the tubers and not go into the ground. Only after the surface of the tubers has dried can they be planted in the ground.
When processing a small number of tubers using any of these methods, they can not be sprayed with the solution, but dipped into it. In this case, the tubers should be placed in a net or bag.
The drug Prestige is simply irreplaceable when growing potatoes on a large scale.This drug is not yet widely used for private farms. Some gardeners do not use it due to its toxicity, others are accustomed to fighting pests the old fashioned way with the help of ash and various infusions. But there are also those who tried the Prestige drug on their potato beds and shared their feedback about it.
