Content
Cornflower potato is a new promising crop variety, which is characterized by stable yield, excellent taste and original appearance of the tubers. Judging by reviews from gardeners, this species shows high productivity in many regions of Russia. After all, it is resistant to negative external factors and quickly adapts to any climatic conditions. Therefore, a good harvest is guaranteed even in seasons unfavorable for the crop.
Cornflower potatoes are suitable for dietary nutrition
History of appearance
Cornflower is a table variety with a high content of useful components. It was obtained by crossing Chugunka with a hybrid form of the culture D-31-88. Work on its breeding was carried out at the Potato Research Institute named after. A. G. Lorkha.
An application for inclusion in the State Register was submitted in 2007. And seven years later, after successful testing, the variety was officially registered.
Description of the cornflower potato with photo
This potato stands out from the rest by the appearance of its bushes and fruits, which makes it well recognizable. And when planting several varieties on a site, you can accurately determine where exactly Cornflower grows.
Bush
This variety is characterized by bushes of medium height, intermediate type. The shoots of the Cornflower potato are 50-60 cm long, strong, semi-erect, 0.7 cm thick. The leaves are open, medium in size. The color of the plates is dark green. The veins are weakly expressed, the edges of the leaves are slightly wavy.
The Cornflower potato bush consists of 4-5 shoots. The leaves on them are mainly located in the upper part, and the stems are bare below. The flowers of this type of crop are purple-pink. The corolla is small, up to 0.7 cm in diameter, and the anthocyanin color inside is low. Inflorescences consist of 5-6 buds.
The root system of potatoes is well developed. It includes many sprout and stolon processes. Up to 15 tubers are formed under each bush. At the same time, the number of non-marketable small fruits is limited.
Cornflower blooms for a long time
Tubers
Cornflower potatoes are distinguished by smooth, elongated tubers. The average weight of each is 77-112 g. The peel is thin, smooth, of a uniform blue-violet hue. During heat treatment, the color intensity is lost.
The eyes on the tubers are small, superficial, and inconspicuous. When you cut a potato, you can see firm, white or light cream flesh with rare areas of pink-purple pigment. It does not darken when exposed to air. Cornflower potatoes are characterized by a slight level of boiliness.The starch content in its tubers is 12-16%.
The yield of marketable tubers for Cornflower potatoes is 71-94%
Characteristics of Cornflower potatoes
To understand how promising this variety is, you need to familiarize yourself with its characteristics. This information will also allow you to ensure proper care of the crop.
Taste qualities of cornflower potatoes
Experts rate the taste of Cornflower potatoes as good. The pulp is medium mealy, not watery, and does not lose consistency or color during heat treatment. Cornflower is classified as a culinary type VS.
The variety is suitable for:
- puree;
- first courses;
- stuffing;
- boiling in its “uniform” and peeled form.
Ripening time
According to the characteristics, the Cornflower potato is classified as a medium-early potato. Its growing season lasts 80-100 days. When planting potatoes in mid-May, harvesting can be carried out in the second ten days of August.
Productivity
The average productivity level of the variety is about 180-200 c/ha. Cornflower tubers are susceptible to mechanical damage due to their thin skin. Therefore, it requires careful transportation to preserve commercial qualities. Cornflower potatoes are characterized by excellent keeping quality. Subject to storage conditions, the tubers remain marketable until the next season. And the amount of waste does not exceed 4-5%.
Growing regions
This variety is zoned for the Central region of Russia. But, judging by the reviews of gardeners, it shows good results in the northern regions. It is not recommended to grow Cornflower in the south of the country, as it reacts poorly to dry air.
Disease resistance
This type of potato is highly resistant to cancer and golden cyst nematode. But at the same time, Cornflower is characterized by an average level of susceptibility to wrinkled striped mosaic. In addition, the species is moderately vulnerable to late blight.
Advantages and disadvantages
According to the description of the variety, photos and reviews, Cornflower potatoes have many advantages that gardeners were able to appreciate. But despite this, it also has certain disadvantages that need to be paid attention to.
Cornflower is characterized by a high content of carotenoids
Main advantages:
- good taste;
- stable yield;
- compactness of bushes;
- versatility of application;
- marketability;
- high level of keeping quality;
- fruit evenness;
- increased content of vitamins and mineral components.
Flaws:
- susceptible to dry and ring rot;
- if the growing conditions are inappropriate, the tubers germinate quickly;
- the taste deteriorates when grown in acidic soil.
Landing rules
For planting, you need to use medium-sized potatoes without mechanical damage or signs of disease. It is recommended to germinate them first. To do this, three weeks before the procedure, you need to move it to a room with a temperature of +15 ° C and spread it out in one layer. In this case, by the time of planting, the length of the sprouts will be about 1.5 cm, which will have a positive effect on their germination.
For Cornflower potatoes, you need to choose an open area that is well lit throughout the day. The best option for the variety is loam, rich in organic matter with good aeration and a neutral level of acidity. You can also plant these potatoes in sandy loam soil if you first add 10 kg of humus per square meter. m.
Holes for planting must be made at a distance of 30 cm, and a distance of 60 cm must be maintained between rows. The recommended planting depth for this variety is 10 cm.
Cornflower does not develop well when planted in acidic soil. Therefore, if necessary, you need to add 300 g of lime per 1 square meter to the soil in advance. m. You should also add a handful of wood ash to each hole.
How to care
At an early stage of development for Cornflower potatoes, it is extremely important to loosen and weed the soil after each watering or rain. This will preserve nutritional components in the soil and air access to the roots, which will have a beneficial effect on the development of the bushes. The variety easily tolerates short-term drought, but with a long-term lack of moisture in the soil it needs watering with soil wetting by 10 cm.
When the potato tops reach a height of 17 cm, you need to carry out the first hilling, and the second at the stage of closing the bushes. The Cornflower variety responds well to fertilizing. During the active growing season, it is recommended to use urea 30 g per 10 liters of water or mullein 1:10. The second feeding should be done before the bushes flower. At this time, you can use nitroammophoska in the proportion of 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water. It is recommended to apply fertilizer for the last time after flowering. At this stage, you need to use superphosphate 30 g and potassium sulfide 25 g per 10 liters of water.
Cornflower potatoes need to be weeded regularly until the bushes close.
Harvest and storage
A sharp wilting of the shoots of this variety occurs in the second half of August.This sign indicates the need to harvest. It is recommended to dig up potatoes in dry weather. After this, the crop needs to be dried in the garden for 2-3 hours. And only after that move it to a dark room. Before storing in the basement, the crop must be dried for three weeks.
Before storing in the basement, the tubers need to be sorted by size. Optimal conditions for storing cornflower crops: temperature +4-6 °C, humidity 80-85%.
Conclusion
Cornflower potatoes are characterized by stable yields subject to standard care conditions. At the same time, the variety is characterized by a minimal amount of waste when cleaning the tubers, since they are aligned and the peel is thin. And, despite the average level of yield, many gardeners claim that this is compensated by the quality of the fruit and excellent taste. This makes it possible for the variety to become more and more popular every year.
Reviews from gardeners about Cornflower potatoes
I planted cornflower potatoes for the first time in 2022, I really liked them, the tubers were large, even, up to 10 per bush. We have peat bogs in the Vologda region and this is probably why the color is more pink-blue. I will grow this variety.