Content
High yielding and unpretentious table potatoes Innovator has been present on the Russian market for more than ten years. Due to the plant's resistance to weather conditions, it has spread to many regions.
Origin story
The Innovator variety is the product of the work of Dutch breeders of the HZPC Holland B.V. company. In Russia, a new potato variety intended for commercial production has been grown since 2005, when it entered the State Register. Recommended for all central and Volga regions, i.e. climatic conditions of the central zone of the country. But it gained popularity in Siberia and the southern steppe regions. Now many farms are included in the State Register as domestic originators of seed material of the Innovator variety: from the Moscow region, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk regions, Stavropol Territory, Tatarstan.
Description and characteristics
Stable yields have made the mid-early Innovator potato popular among industrial crop producers. Harvesting begins after 75-85 days of plant development. They get 320-330 centners per hectare. The maximum yield of the Innovator variety was obtained in the Kirov region: 344 c/ha. On personal plots from 1 m2 you can harvest potatoes from 15 to 30 kg.The marketability of the harvest ranges from 82 to 96%, there are few small tubers.
The Innovator potato bush develops up to 60-70 cm in height. Semi-erect, spreading stems grow quickly, with medium foliage. The large leaves are slightly wavy and light green. Lots of white, large flowers. Berries are rarely produced.
The tubers of the Innovator variety are oval, oblong, covered with a light yellow rough skin, with small, flat eyes. From 6 to 11 large, uniform potatoes are formed in the nest, weighing from 83 to 147 g. The light cream flesh of the Innovator potato is dense, slightly boiled, and retains a pleasant color after cooking or freezing. Contains 12-15% starch, 21.3% dry matter. The tasting score is 3 and 4 points.
The Innovator variety, thanks to its dense structure, has established itself as one of the best for preparing salads, French fries, baking in foil, frying or stewing. The tubers are used to make chips and puree powder.
The keeping quality of the variety reaches 95%, with an average dormant period. Innovator potatoes tolerate mechanical damage, are suitable for long-distance transportation, and can be stored for 3-4 months, which is a good indicator for an early variety.
Plantings of the Innovator variety are resistant to typical diseases: pale potato nematode, potato cancer. But the golden potato cyst nematode parasitizes the plant. The innovator demonstrates average resistance to late blight and scab. The variety is susceptible to the fungal disease rhizoctonia and attacks by the Colorado potato beetle.
Advantages and disadvantages
Landing
According to potato growers, any soil is suitable for the Innovator variety, although it works best on fertile sandy loam soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. In such areas, water does not stagnate, and oxygen easily penetrates to the tubers. Heavy clay soils need structuring, adding a bucket of sawdust or sand per 1 m2. Acidity is reduced by adding 500 g of lime or 200 g of dolomite flour. In spring, a glass of wood ash is placed in the holes. The soil is prepared and fertilized with humus, compost, and superphosphate during autumn plowing.
In the middle climate zone, Innovator potatoes are planted in May, when the soil temperature rises to 7°C. A month and a half before planting, seed potatoes are taken out of storage, sorted and germinated.
- Lay out the tubers in 2-3 layers;
- The room temperature is not higher than 17°C;
- Before planting, tubers without seedlings are discarded and treated with growth stimulants according to the instructions;
- The tubers are also sprayed with special pre-planting insecticides directed against the Colorado potato beetle;
- Layout of nests for the Innovator potato variety: 70 x 25-40 cm. Small tubers are planted more densely, and large ones less frequently.
Care
The plot with potatoes of the Innovator variety is regularly loosened, removing weeds. If necessary, the beds are watered if the weather is hot. For potatoes, watering during the bud phase and after flowering is important.
Hilling and feeding
After rains or watering, hilling is carried out at least three times, having time to form high ridges before the Innovator potatoes bloom.Feed by watering between the rows with mullein (1:10) or bird droppings (1:15). These fertilizers are also ready for sale. Before the first hilling, 500 ml of a solution of 20 g of urea or ammonium nitrate in 10 liters of water is poured under the root of the Innovator variety.
Diseases and pests
| Disease/pests | Signs | Control measures |
| Late blight | There are brown spots on the leaves. White coating underneath | Hilling up potatoes until the leaves close in the bush. Spraying with copper sulfate 15 days after germination |
| Rhizoctoniosis | Infection could have occurred through the planting of tubers with black, rough spots. Black rotting spots on the bottom of the stems, white coating on the leaves | Spraying tubers before planting with boric acid - 1% solution or fungicide Ditan M-45 (80%) |
| Powdery scab | White growths are noticeable on the stems, which turn brown and shredded over time | Before laying, the tubers are treated with a 5% solution of copper sulfate |
| Golden potato cyst nematode | Small microscopic worms live on the roots. During flowering, the plant turns yellow and the lower leaves fall off. The roots become fibrous. The nematode remains in the form of a cyst and spreads easily, remains viable for up to 10 years | The tops and all plant residues are burned. Potatoes are planted on the plot after 4 years |
Harvesting
Before harvesting Innovator potatoes, you need to make sure that a thick skin has already formed on the tubers. Potatoes harvested at the technical maturity stage will be better stored.
Conclusion
The table variety deserves more attention from large farms and owners of personal plots. Resistance to a number of diseases makes it easy to grow.High marketability, productivity and keeping quality ensure attractiveness.
