Does potatoes grow after the tops have dried, how to determine the timing of harvesting

After harvesting potatoes, many gardeners face the question of what to do with the tops. There is a lot of it, partly it still remains green. Some growers cut off individual branches during the growth of the root crop. This is how the planting density is regulated. Stems and leaves are green.

Where can they be used? Experts advise against throwing away the tops. It contains a lot of vitamins and mineral salts. Greens have a rich chemical composition, but they are not used for livestock feed. There is a lot of corned beef in the tops of potatoes. Especially its level rises during the period of budding and flowering.

Corned beef causes fatal poisoning in animals. How do gardeners use potato tops? What can you do with it?

Striped mosaic

The causative agent of the striped mosaic of potatoes is the Y virus. The first signs of the disease appear on the lower and middle leaves of the bush. Light specks of a mosaic type appear on them, that is, of an irregular shape. If at this time you do not begin to pluck and burn the affected leaves, then soon, along with the spots, dark stripes and dots will begin to appear.

All of them are located at the bottom of the leaf along its central vein, and then the entire surface is affected by the mosaic. This can be seen in the photo of the leaves of a potato with mottling.

Dark spots or streaks spread over the stems of the potato. This happens when the gardener stubbornly ignores the above signs of the disease. Further, the stems become brittle, dry quickly.

The striped mosaic on potatoes usually occurs before the flowering of the bushes.

The Y virus enters potatoes along with the seed. It can also be delivered by insects or birds. With their help, the virus spreads to neighboring bushes.

You need to carefully consider the choice of seed. All tubers showing dark spots or necrotic rings are not suitable for planting.

Treatment

The striped mosaic, however, like other viral diseases of the potato tops, is still incurable. There is no cure for this virus. However, with early detection of striped mosaic, the bush can be saved if all affected leaves are cut off in time. With a late discovery, the gardener has no choice but to uproot the bush and burn it.

Prophylaxis

The only preventive way to protect potato tops from mosaics is a careful selection of the seed and impeccable care of the entire area.

Compost

Most summer residents are faced with the problem of a lack of organic fertilizers to increase soil fertility. Often there is nowhere to take manure or it is very expensive. In this case, compost can help out, which, when properly prepared, is in no way inferior to manure in terms of its effectiveness. Compost is obtained by decomposition of plant residues with the help of soil microorganisms.

You can compost the foliage in a heap, trench or box. The principle of cooking is the same in all cases, consider the simplest way - composting in a heap.

To form a heap, a shady and far from residential area of the garden is chosen. The site is tamped, a 20 cm layer of peat or dry leaves is laid, lightly sprinkled with garden soil.The tops are laid on top with a layer of 15-20 cm and sprinkled with fertile soil. Ash or phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are added to the soil.

Layers are stacked until the heap reaches 1.5 m. To accelerate decomposition and enrichment with nitrogen, each layer is watered with slurry.

At the end of the process, the compost heap is covered with a 5 cm layer of garden soil or peat. Subsequently, the compost heap is regularly shoveled, moistened in dry weather, and covered with film during prolonged rains.

Depending on external conditions, it may take from 6 months to 2 years until the compost fully matures. The finished compost is a loose brown mass with a smell of earth. It is used by the method of introduction into the soil during the preparation of the beds or into the planting holes during the planting of seedlings in the ground.

The compost contains all the nutrients that plants need. Due to the connection with organic matter, they are not washed out of the soil during watering or rains, like the nutrients of mineral fertilizers. Fertilization with compost provides garden crops with nutrition for the entire growing season.

Wrinkled mosaic

The causative agents of wrinkled mosaic of potato tops are viruses X, S, A and M. It is noteworthy that this disease occurs with the simultaneous effect of all four viruses.

The first signs of a wrinkled mosaic appear on the leaves. Their surface becomes corrugated. At the same time, the edges are bent towards the veins. The description with photos will help you better imagine the diseased plant. Affected leaves soon die, but do not fall off. It is extremely rare at this stage of the disease to occur the occurrence of stems.

Viruses X, S, A and M hibernate in tubers and do not manifest themselves all this time. They fall on the tops in the spring during sap flow. Then insects carry them to neighboring bushes. The disease spreads rapidly to the entire area.

These viruses live in a number of weeds, which is why they should not be allowed to appear in the beds. In addition to potato tops, wrinkled mosaic affects tomatoes and clover.

The disease is very insidious. After planting the tubers in the first year, the disease may not manifest itself at all, although viruses on the tops will be present. Bushes that have grown from infected tubers will stand out from the rest. The tops grow more slowly on them, the foliage is small.

Treatment

There is no medical treatment for wrinkled mosaics either. Timely mechanical removal of affected leaves allows you to save the bush.

Prophylaxis

In addition to careful selection of seed, it will be useful to disinfect the soil before planting.

What to do if potatoes have high tops and no ovary

Large tops of the potatoes are elongated, there is no ovary, and the summer resident is already panicking. First of all, you need to study the characteristics of the planted variety. Lack of flowering, like tall greenery, can be a varietal feature.

For your information! In the same area, one potato variety may bloom profusely, or it may be reluctant to do so. At the same time, this does not affect the result in any way, the yield remains the same.

High tops and lack of flowers are not a good sign for a gardener.

Will high tops affect potato growth in the absence of flowering? Interestingly, these two problems often have the same sources. The reasons for the lack of inflorescences on the bushes are:

poor illumination of the site;
excess moisture;
a lot of fertilizers.

Ordinary mosaic

Ordinary mosaic gardeners are sometimes called speckled. The reason for its appearance is the pathogenic virus X.

The first signs of the disease are very similar to the description of the manifestation of wrinkled mosaic. But the color of the spots that appeared is light green with a yellow tint. Leaves under the influence of ordinary mosaic also dry, but do not fall off.Sometimes at the initial stage of the disease, some leaves are deformed.

Ordinary mosaic does not lead to the death of the bush, but significantly weakens it. Moreover, it is not uncommon for the signs of the disease to disappear by themselves. However, this is not to be rejoiced at. Using your own tubers for planting, you will not get the former high yield next year. It will be reduced by a third, or even half. The disease itself will already be more difficult.

Treatment

No cures have been found yet. The only way out is to remove the affected leaves and their obligatory burning.

Prophylaxis

The essence of the prevention of the occurrence of an ordinary mosaic is reduced to the fight against harmful insects that carry the virus.

Potato parasites

A very dangerous variety of worms - nematodes... Why are they so harmful? The species of this worm settles in the root system of the plant, the larvae parasitize on the leaves, which is why the tops wither, the tubers do not develop. The amount of the future harvest is significantly reduced. The offspring of this parasite can survive in the soil for ten years.

Protection methods: disinfection of working equipment; use of planting material resistant to nematode; changing the place of growing vegetables with a frequency of 2 years; growing, in areas damaged by the parasite, corn or grain crops; the last resort is to involve employees of the quarantine service.

Aucuba Mosaic

Both tops and tubers suffer from this disease. When aucuba mosaic occurs on the site, the potato yield drops sharply.

The disease manifests itself on the lower leaves by the appearance of light spots on them. Only in some varieties all leaves to the very top of the bush suffer from this disease. Later, spots appear on the petioles, stems. Further, under them, tissue death begins. The surface of individual leaves may become wrinkled, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Aucuba mosaic also does not cause the death of bushes, they grow, but the yield and quality of tubers from this disease decrease. Black dots appear inside root crops affected by this disease. These potatoes cannot be used for planting. They are also unsuitable for food. However, hardly anyone decides to eat them - here they are in the photo.

Treatment

There are no drugs for this disease either. Even by cutting off all the affected leaves, you will not stop the virus. The only way to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the site is to uproot the bush, burn and shed the soil under it with a 1% solution of copper sulfate or manganese. The faster you do this, the better.

Prophylaxis

The carrier of the aucuba mosaic is aphid. Fighting it is the only effective preventive method.

Why do you need tops?

The tops act as a source of nutrients for the tuber. Thanks to the photosynthesis carried out by it, the tops allow the tubers to germinate better and gain their weight. If the root system uses soil resources to provide the tuber with a supply of all the necessary substances, then the tops use light, converting its energy into the energy of chemical bonds. Simply put, the tops play an important role in the formation of tasty and juicy potatoes, from which we subsequently prepare many mouth-watering dishes.

The foliage feeds the tubers until the budding period

The foliage appears immediately after budding and marks the onset of flowering. At this moment, there can be no talk of any tubers yet, and the main task of the gardener is to loosen the soil for an even distribution of fertilizer ingredients.

The condition of the tops can tell a lot about the future harvest. If it is thick and strong, then, most likely, good and equally large ripening tubers are located under it.In turn, it makes no sense to wait for a rich harvest from the drying yellow tops. Frail sprouts will not be able to nourish the fruits with all the necessary substances.

Nitrogen fertilizers contribute to the thickening of the tops, which is undesirable for tubers.

When fertilizing potatoes, the gardener should be careful and select the right ingredients, since not all ingredients have a positive effect on the tubers. For example, nitrogen fertilizers perfectly fertilize the soil, but promote the development of tops, ignoring the potato root system. As a result, the harvest will be more than meager. Even removing the tops will not help the potatoes gain strength.

Rolling the leaves

This viral disease affects the entire potato bush and tubers. The causative agent of leaf rolling is the M virus. The first signs of the disease appear on young plants. The edges of the leaves become curly. After a while, small light spots of irregular shape are formed on them. Old leaves are rarely infected. This disease differs from all of the above diseases in that it does not cause brittle stems and leaves.

On the leaves of some potato varieties, reddish rather than light spots may appear. Sometimes the stems become curly under the influence of the disease.

Sometimes there are no external signs of the disease on the aerial part of the plant at all. A sick bush looks perfectly healthy, but that's not all. Signs of the disease are present on the bushes only in the first half of the growing season. Then they disappear by themselves, but the disease does not disappear. Under its influence, the yield and taste of tubers are reduced.

Treatment

Only the complete destruction of a diseased bush and disinfection of the soil under it can save healthy bushes from infection by curling the leaves.

Prophylaxis

Proper care, careful selection of seeds and pest control are effective disease prevention.

Potato pests

Insect pests inflict annual damage to the owners of garden plots. The most common of them: Colorado potato beetle, wireworm, potato flea beetle, leafhoppers and others.

Colorado beetle

The most dangerous pest of potatoes - Colorado beetle (its Far Eastern counterpart is the 28-point "ladybug"). The insect is yellow-orange in color, the back is lined with black stripes in the amount of 10 pieces. This beetle is capable of long-distance flights thanks to its well-developed wings. Insect females lay offspring on the inside of potato leaves. Young leaf beetles actively feed on the green part of the plant, which is why vegetable bushes begin to turn yellow, dry, and wither. Eggs are yellow, oblong in shape. Larvae from dark brown to orange and pink tones with dark specks on the sides. Larvae and beetles are capable of destroying all tops in a short time.

Protection methods: collection, destruction of larvae and beetles by hand; planting crops next to potatoes - calendula, beans, beans; destruction of the insect by bacterial infection (bitoxibacillin, boverin); the use of poisonous preparations for special purposes.

Post wilt

The causative agents of the disease are phytoplasmic organisms. Post-withering of potato tops can manifest itself in two forms.

South pole

From the name of the disease, it is clear that it is mainly distributed in the southern latitudes. The first manifestation is observed on the upper leaves of a potato bush. A light edging appears along their contour, and the axillary leaves sharply slow down their growth. Later, signs of the disease can be seen on the affected stems. The distance of internodes decreases on them. In these places, the stems become brittle. The southern post is characterized by its transience.Within a week and a half after infection, the bush completely fades. After another maximum of 10 days, he dies.

The southern column also affects inflorescences. From this disease, they are deformed and take on an ugly appearance. The petals of the inflorescences can grow together, while the stamens and pistils remain underdeveloped. Some of the affected inflorescences become discolored or turn green. Such flowers are not susceptible to pollination.

North column

This form of the disease is typical for northern latitudes with a cool climate. Under the influence of the disease, potato bushes grow very slowly. Small leaves are formed on them, branching of the stems is observed. The northern column causes greening of the inflorescences, but the bush does not wilt and die.

Treatment

Pillar wilting in both forms is still an incurable disease. Affected bushes have to be uprooted and burned. The soil under them must be disinfected.

Prophylaxis

The pillar wilt virus lives not only in tubers, but also on weeds. The infection feels especially comfortable on the grass, which is called a birch tree. It should not be allowed to appear on potato ridges.

The second method of prevention is careful selection of the seed. Tubers affected by post wilt appear as thin sprouts in spring. Such potatoes cannot be planted in the soil and eaten. Better to destroy it or feed it to animals.

How to get rid of the haulm?

There are many ways to remove the used tops. It is fair to say that all possible means are involved in harvesting tops - from the most difficult to the simplest. In addition to using special toppers and motoblocks, gardeners crush the tops with heavy rollers, trample them with their feet, use chemical or mechanical treatment.

The haulm is removed both manually and using complex mechanisms.

If the first listed methods are extremely intuitive and do not require any additional instructions, then the last two require a more detailed interpretation.

Mechanical restoration

Mechanical processing is most often used in conjunction with chemical processing as the first step. To use this method, there is one condition - the length of the seedlings remaining after processing must be at least twenty-five centimeters. This length is optimal for further spreading chemicals that will not work properly when this parameter is changed.

The toppers gently remove the tops of the tops without damaging the tubers and their root system

Important! If the greenery is low, the cutting height must be lowered. This will help to avoid scratching the furrow, which can affect the quality of the coming harvest.

It is most convenient to use a topper for mechanical processing - a tool specially sharpened for cutting tops, which does not need to adjust the cutting height. The rotor built into it ventilates the plants when processing plants, which contributes to raising the stems and makes the removal of the tops more convenient.

Chemical treatment

Chemical treatment or desiccation is commonly used in emergency situations where urgent action is required. The main reason for desiccation is leaf infection. It should be borne in mind that the use of pesticides has a detrimental effect on the subsequent harvest, therefore this method is used very carefully and in a limited number of cases. In addition to a particular drawback in the form of a decrease in yield, there is also a global drawback, which consists in a negative impact on the environment as a whole.

Desiccation, as a rule, is carried out in large vegetable gardens and is not used on private farms

Desiccation is carried out in two stages:

The first stage involves the destruction of the upper part of the stem;
The second stage allows chemicals to penetrate to the base of the plant, affecting the causative agent of the disease;
A week after the two-phase treatment, the tops are mowed.

It is necessary to take a break of several days between the two stages to allow the chemicals to take effect.

The impact of the chemical on both a specific crop and the environment as a whole is negative.

Important! If the summer is rainy, you should prepare for the re-germination of the tops. With this development of events, one more treatment of seedlings with chemicals is allowed. Repeated sprouts have a more fragile immunity and are prone to the spread of the fungus, which means they are no less dangerous for the tuber than their infected predecessors.

Sophisticated equipment is involved for desiccation, up to the use of helicopters

Desiccation is desirable on a dry day. The afternoon time is optimal for the operation, since in the late afternoon the morning dew dries up completely, which reduces the consumption of chemical compounds.

Desiccation can be avoided by timely processing of the tops with Phytosporin. You can read about the methods of its use and the recommended dosage below.

Methods of using phytosporin

Video - Harvesting tops with a walk-behind tractor

Golden nematode

This disease is also called globoderosis. Its pathogens are worms that live in the roots of potatoes.

The golden nematode develops slowly. It manifests itself as a slowdown in the growth of bushes. By the time the healthy tops reach their maximum height, the patient is one and a half, or even two times less. Sick bushes wither, often the lower leaves fall on them.

Few inflorescences are formed on bushes affected by the golden nematode. They often do not form at all. Sick bushes usually die before the harvest begins, and fungal diseases that invariably accompany the golden nematode contribute to this.

Treatment

As such, there is no cure for this disease. Sick bushes need to be uprooted and burned as early as possible. The soil, of course, should be disinfected with a 1% aqueous solution of manganese or copper sulfate.

Prophylaxis

Correct crop rotation and soil decontamination is perhaps the only thing that can be done to protect potatoes from golden nematodes. Experienced gardeners plant potatoes at a certain place only three years after the previous planting.

When to remove the tops

As soon as the potato bushes begin to bear fruit, it is time to think about removing the tops. At the end of flowering seedlings, the tubers remain in the ground for the next ten days, during which it is necessary to get rid of all excess vegetation so that the fruits have time to ripen completely and form a protective skin. For example, if you are planning to harvest at the beginning of September, then the optimal time to remove the tops is the twentieth of August.

The mowing of the tops is done a couple of weeks before the tubers ripen.

It is impossible to give a short answer to the question of specific dates for the removal of tops, since this procedure is directly related to the timing of potato ripening. In early maturing varieties, the tops are removed in the second half of summer; in late varieties, it can be deposited until November.

It is advisable to set aside a day in advance for the removal of the tops - it should be dry and sunny. In order to avoid burning of crops under the scorching sun rays, it is recommended to carry out the operation in the late afternoon.

After removing the tops, it must be disposed of as soon as possible to prevent possible soil contamination.

The cut leaves are immediately disposed of by incineration as they can be potentially infectious. A place for disposal should be chosen neutral, not intersecting with other beds.

Late blight

Every gardener knows about this potato disease, because late blight is common everywhere where people grow potatoes. The disease affects both the ground part of the bush and the tubers. Late blight can destroy up to 70% of the crop.

Initially, the disease manifests itself on the lower leaves of the potato in the form of wet spots. Soon they acquire a brown color similar to rust - this can be seen in the photograph.

At the same time, a white bloom forms on the underside of the affected leaves. This is a colony of fungal spores. When it moves to the stems, it is no longer possible to save the plant. After this, the leaves begin to fall off quickly, the whole bush dries out. High air humidity contributes to late blight, so potatoes should not be planted densely.

Treatment

Late blight in the initial stage of its development is curable. There are a number of chemicals available for this. In the middle stage of the development of the disease, they are all already powerless. The plant has to be destroyed, disinfected the soil under it.

Prophylaxis

The best method to prevent late blight is the treatment of seed, bushes and soil under them with fungicides. They can be used at any stage of development of potato bushes. However, 20 days before the start of the harvest, the fungicide treatment should be stopped.

It is very important to harvest on time. This should be done immediately after all the tops are dry.

Description and treatment of potato diseases will be useful to the gardener. In addition to the tops, the tubers themselves are sick. Sometimes the green mass does not show that there are problems. But, for example, the tops of potatoes rot at the very base, why is this happening? This is a sign of a black leg. The disease manifests itself as follows: spots become visible on the stems, the leaves turn yellow. Then the stem turns black and rots at the base.

Rusty leaves are also a sign of a disease that will attack the tubers. But if the garden is looked after properly, the harvest will be excellent.

Features of the growing season of culture

In the wild, in their distant homeland, potatoes are a perennial plant, although in our country they are cultivated as an annual crop. The reason is the climate, the cold winter period in which the tubers, and the plants themselves, freeze out. Therefore, the garden harvest begins with us with the spring planting, and ends with the autumn digging of potatoes.

The boundary in the growing season is the flowering period of the culture. Before the budding phase, the plants intensively increase the ground part, the green mass, and after flowering they fill up, the tubers go into growth. The leaves and shoots of potatoes are a source of nutrition for tubers, so it is important that the tops are green and healthy.

The tops turn yellow and dry both due to natural reasons (ripening of tubers) and due to various pathologies:

pest attacks;
illness;
lack of food;
moisture deficiency.

Drying in August (in some varieties at the end of July) is a signal that harvest is approaching. In this case, you do not need to worry, the shoots are cut off and after about 12-14 days they start digging.

Do potatoes grow after the tops have dried? When the ground part dies off, the growth of tubers stops, the peel of the potato begins to thicken, harden, and useful substances accumulate in the pulp. Such potatoes are less susceptible to mechanical damage during digging, and are better stored in winter.

Further use

The cut potato tops do not have to be recycled; they are often used for agricultural purposes. Knowing what to do with potato tops after harvesting has many benefits for your garden.

Pest control

From the mowed potato greens, you can prepare an effective means of combating many pests, such as:

aphid;
mole;
spider mite;
leaf-eating caterpillar;
cabbage white.

For this you need:

Insist fresh shoots or dried foliage in a ratio of 300-400g.for 10 liters of water.
The infusion is kept warm for 4 hours, and then 50 g of soap is dissolved in it.

Planting is treated with a working solution in the evening.

Can I put it in a compost pit and how to use it as a fertilizer?

Important!

Potato tops can serve as a valuable fertilizer for fruit and berry bushes.

For this:

The tops should be piled up and sprinkled with fresh grass. In this state, the tops should be left for the winter.
Next spring, an excellent fertilizer will be ready, which needs to be laid out between bushes of raspberries, currants, gooseberries.

Under a pillow of such humus, moisture remains much longer, the soil does not overheat, and it also has a disinfecting effect against weeds.

The question of whether to put the tops in compost can be answered in the affirmative. Potato foliage can be safely laid in a compost heap or pit, which must first be treated with copper sulfate to create a protective disinfecting barrier against possible infections. This fertilizer will be ready in 3 years. This time is needed to completely destroy all traces of fungal infections.

What to do with the dry part of the bush after harvesting?

It may happen that you did not cut the tops and they dry out naturally. Dry potato tops, after digging out the tubers, can be heaped and burned. This will be useful if the plant has been affected by diseases. The resulting ash is then used as fertilizer.

Should I add to animal feed or not?

Contrary to popular belief that potato tops can be used as pet food, it should be noted that the leafy part of potatoes contains solanine, which is a poison for living organisms. Feeding it to animals is not worth it.

Removal methods

If it is impossible to determine the cause of the overgrowth of the tops, it must be bent down.... This will halt the growth of the tops for 1 to 2 weeks and allow the tuberization process to begin. In a situation where it is necessary to remove the excess leaves, it is done in such ways.