The Picasso potato variety is a prominent representative of the Dutch selection. Like other varieties bred in Holland, it has excellent taste, good disease resistance and high yield. We will talk about the distinctive features of this variety, as well as how to care for it below.
Characteristics of the variety
Picasso potatoes are a late-ripening potato variety that can only be harvested after 110 - 130 days. Taking into account these ripening periods, as well as the general unpretentiousness of the variety, the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the Russian Federation recommends its planting in the Central and Central Black Earth regions.
This potato cannot boast of the compact size of its bushes. At the same time, they stand out not only for their height, but also for their width. The spreading tops consist of large, dark green leaves that have good curl resistance. During flowering, white flowers are visible among the large leaves of this variety.
Each bush can form up to 20 tubers. Potatoes, like bushes, are not miniature in size. They are large and heavy, with an average weight of 80 to 140 grams. In their shape they look like a rounded oval. A distinctive feature of Picasso is the coloring of the potatoes.It was thanks to her that this variety was named in honor of Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish artist.
The light yellow color of the potato skin, with pink spots around its eyes, obviously reminded the breeders of Picasso’s paintings from the “rose period” of his work. The potato pulp has a classic cream or milky white color. The starch in it is at a low level - only 10-12%. These potatoes have excellent taste. It does not darken when cut and does not become soft when cooked. In addition, potatoes have excellent keeping quality and retain their taste and commercial qualities for a long period of time.
The Picasso potato has a good immune system that protects it from the most common diseases of this crop, namely:
- fusarium;
- scab;
- nematodes;
- X and Yn viruses.
There is only one disease that can break a hole in the immune system of this potato - fusarium. The tubers must be treated against it before planting with any available preparation, for example, “Batofit”, “Integral” or “Fitosporin-M”. You can learn about other methods of combating this disease from the video:
The yield of this potato is quite high. If we take average values, then from one hectare of land you can harvest from 20 to 50 tons of potatoes. In this case, 95% of the harvest will have marketable tubers.
Recommendations for cultivation
These potatoes are late-ripening, so they can be planted a little earlier than early or mid-early varieties.It is recommended to start planting in late April - early May, when the threat of sudden frosts has passed and the air temperature will range from +7 to +10 degrees.
Not least important when planting late-ripening potatoes, which includes Picasso, is the pre-sowing germination of tubers. To do this, the potatoes must be placed in a bright place and the temperature must not exceed +15 degrees.
When planting Picasso tubers, you need to take into account the large size of the future bushes. Therefore, the minimum distance between tubers should be about 50 cm.
After emergence, potato care should include:
- Weeding and loosening - these procedures will allow the roots of potato bushes to receive more oxygen and moisture. They should be carried out only after the young seedlings reach a height of 6–7 cm.
- Watering – these potatoes can get by just fine with rainwater. But if the season turns out to be dry, then you need to water the potatoes yourself. Watering once every 10 days will be sufficient for it.
- Fertilizer – potatoes respond well to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. In total, potatoes need to be fertilized three times during the season: after emergence, before flowering and during flowering. After flowering has ended, you should not fertilize the potatoes - this will not do any good.
If all recommendations are followed, the harvest of these potatoes will exceed any expectations.
