Describe the structure of the potato fruit. The structure of a potato: root, tuber, stem and leaves Potatoes what flowers

The variety of potatoes allows farmers and summer residents to choose exactly those types that will be most suitable for a particular type of area and will not lose their productivity. Agricultural workers prefer to combine several varieties at the same time, trying to achieve high-quality harvest throughout the season. But this method is not suitable for everyone.

Potato varieties differ not only in yield, but also in speed of ripening. Also, the condition of the crop will be influenced by secondary factors responsible for resistance to cold, disease and moisture. Therefore, choosing the right species is the basis for a good harvest.

Classification of varieties

The origin of potatoes is amazing in its history. Having appeared in America, this amazing vegetable was not recognized as edible for a long time and was used as a decoration. The history of potatoes in Russia is directly related to the Peter the Great era. Back then it was grown in very small quantities and was considered the food of aristocrats. Decades later, farmers discovered a huge variety of varieties of this nutritious and valuable product. The beneficial properties of potatoes have elevated this crop to the same level as bread and grain products.

1. Early

Early potato varieties are characterized by rapid growth and a short growing season. Planting begins in early April. After 60-70 days it is fully mature and ready for harvesting. Early potatoes do not store well and are not designed to retain moisture for a long time.

2. Mid-early

More unpretentious and better stored. The full growing season from the moment of planting is 60-80 days. A few weeks before planting, it is necessary to organize the preparation of planting material, namely, spread the tubers in a bright, warm room and wait until the tubers germinate. Strong green sprouts are a signal that the vegetable is ready for planting.

3. Mid-season

The most common species, which are collected at the beginning of August. The growing season is 80-100 days. They are more often preferred for planting due to their unpretentiousness and good taste.

4. Mid-late and late

The most unpretentious varieties, as they not only store well in winter, but also do not require additional germination. The growing season ranges from 100 to 120 days.

Economic purpose of potatoes

The nutritional value of potatoes is invaluable for humans, as they contain a number of useful microelements and vitamins. It does not burden the digestive process and is easily digestible. This product is an excellent addition to many dishes, brightening them up with its delicate taste.

Varieties for economic purposes:

Fodder potatoes are large tubers with a high percentage of starch and protein;
Food potatoes - varieties corresponding to GOST, supplied in large quantities for fresh consumption;
Technical - varieties used for the preparation of alcohol and starch products;
Universal - a type containing an average amount of starch and suitable for nutrition and production.

Basic and popular types

For the middle band:

Idaho Potatoes- an early ripening species, rich in starch and carbohydrates. Due to this, it is considered one of the most nutritious and healthy. Idaho is known for its large size and perfect shape that allows it to be cut into equal slices. This species is used in the preparation of a famous Idaho dish.

Potatoes Bellarosa - refers to an early ripening species with good taste characteristics. The plant has excellent disease resistance and is easy to care for. Stores quite well.

Rosara Potatoes - refers to the ultra-ripe species. The high yield is due to its resistance to temperature changes and diseases. It is also tasty and keeps well for long periods of time.

Potatoes Gala - The Gala potato variety has a characteristic yellow flesh color and yellowish glossy tubers. It has high yield and a pleasant sweet taste. Resistant to many harmful factors. The growing season ends within no more than 80 days from the date of planting.

Potatoes Luck - early variety with high yield. It is characterized by a high content of starch and nutrients. It can stand out for its good keeping quality, resistance to disease and mechanical damage.

Potatoes Scarb - mid-season varietal potatoes, which are characterized by a bright yellow skin color and good taste. It has good shelf life and resistance to cancer.

Potato Breeze- an attractive variety with a snow-white color inside. Has high taste characteristics. Resistant to temperature changes, widely used in food production.

Veneta Potatoes - a popular variety often used in many dishes. The peel has a characteristic yellow tint, without defects. Potato yields are high and resistant to many harmful factors. Tolerates bad weather conditions well.

Potatoes Santa - white potatoes of Dutch origin. With a high starch content and high nutritional properties. This mid-early species is almost not susceptible to disease and produces an excellent harvest. Dutch potato varieties never become soggy when cooked. Cooks give them preference when preparing French fries.

Potatoes Lorch - mid-late variety. Like all nightshades, Lorch is incredibly flexible, rich in starch and does not darken when cooked.

Potatoes Blue - A tasty mid-late variety, ideal for pureeing and boiling. It is tasty, does not darken and has a high starch content. Resistant to high moisture and aridity.

Potatoes Aurora - a common mid-season variety with a characteristic reddish skin. Popular due to its high yield and beautiful oval shape.

Potatoes Rodrigo - an early ripening variety that has gained its popularity due to its excellent taste and heat resistance. The growing season is only 70-85 days, which made this species in demand in Russia.

Potatoes Rocco - Dutch potatoes, which have proven themselves to have consistently high yields and excellent taste characteristics. Good for making chateau potatoes, a traditional French side dish.

The most delicious varieties:

Potatoes Picasso - late variety with low starch content. It has good keeping quality, high yield, and has a characteristic cream color of the pulp. Suitable for preparing potato wedges with garlic.

Potatoes Tuleevsky - one of the most delicious varieties, which has a thin peel and boils quickly. Unadapted to heat and drought, which is the biggest disadvantage of this variety. The main characteristic, along with taste, is the highest productivity of the Tuleevsky species. So, with proper care and watering, about 500 kg can be collected from 1 acre. harvest. The number of spoiled tubers is minimal and is also unpretentious in storage.

Potato Pie - a variety that loves moisture and good weather conditions. Combines the best characteristics of its predecessors. It has the right shape, tastes good and is quick to prepare.

Potatoes Dauphine - variety developed by the Dutch. Known for its bright, rich taste and large size, reaching up to 350 grams.

Potato Zhuravinka - Belarusian potatoes with characteristic red tubers, which have become famous for their pleasant taste. Often used as a raw material for chips. Multituberous, disease resistant.

Potatoes Anna - variety with red colored tubers. Mid-season, with high yield. All other indicators do not exceed the standard level. Suitable for preparing a variety of dishes.

Kiwi Potatoes - universal late look. The skin resembles the skin of a kiwi fruit. Has high productivity. It contains bio fiber, which is not digested by Colorado potato beetles.

Potato Kolobok - a variety used to make many dry foods. Known for its delicate, pleasant taste. It got its name due to the spherical shape of the tubers. The peel has a slightly rough structure and is yellow in color. The flesh is also yellow. The weight of one mature potato reaches 120 grams, and the yield of 1 hectare is equal to 250 centners.

Potatoes Fairy Tale - variety with a delicate taste. It has a smooth yellow skin and snow-white flesh. Resistant to viral diseases, but susceptible to late blight. Perfect for baking, frying, accordion dishes and other potato delights.

Potato Karatop - an early species with a characteristic yellowish tint to the peel and pulp. Attractive to farmers for its yield and taste. It is classified as a table potato and is often used to make chips, mashed potatoes and dried potatoes. On good soils, Karatop tubers turn out to be very juicy and attractive in appearance.

Potatoes Uladar - early variety, has a pronounced sweet taste. It is small in size. Quite resistant to drought. At the same time, it has a high yield, due to which it is very famous among gardeners. The productivity of one hectare reaches 720 centners. The tubers themselves have hard flesh and thin skin. Due to its high shelf life and the absence of large eyes, this species is in great demand.

Potatoes Impala - valuable and popular variety. It gained recognition due to its early growing season and at the same time high productivity. It is sold out in seed form first among all other types. When planting this variety in the southern regions, it is possible to obtain a harvest twice a year. It is noteworthy that Impala is very resistant to viruses and has a high starch content.

Red Scarlett Potatoes - early variety with high yield. The main difference from other varieties is the low tops. It has a bright pink skin and yellow flesh. The taste is pleasant, the vegetable does not darken when cooked. Red Scarlett makes excellent chateau potatoes.

Potato Jelly - mid-early variety with medium-sized tubers. The peel has a pleasant golden color, the flesh is light yellow. The taste characteristics of potatoes of this variety classify them as the most tasty and nutritious.

Unpretentious varieties:

Adretta - table variety is an early variety with a delicate taste and high yield characteristics. The main merits are rapid growth, resistance to diseases, and ease of care.

Lugovskoy - one of the most stable varieties in terms of yield. It stores well, has excellent taste and is almost not susceptible to disease.

Luck - an early variety with high yield, which can be the envy of other varieties of root crops. Perfectly adapts to almost any climatic conditions. It takes root well in any type of soil. Its main advantages are high shelf life and drought resistance. It has a thin skin and small eyes. The variety copes well with infections and blackleg.

Rosara - early variety with universal characteristics. It not only has high quality characteristics, excellent taste and keeping quality, but also produces a high potato yield . This species belongs to the table varieties and, in addition to its good taste, is completely unpretentious in cooking, boils quickly, but does not crumble from overcooking.

Slavyanka - variety with oblong tubers with a red tint. The weight of one vegetable can reach 180 grams. Tastes good. The yield of Slavyanka exceeds 500 centners per 1 hectare. Such results were achieved thanks to the selection of this species. It has a uniform structure, thin peel and very large sizes.

Sineglazka - is a mid-season variety. Its only drawback is its poor keeping quality. However, the advantages of the variety are excellent taste and high yielding ability.

Nevsky - elite mid-early variety potatoes with excellent taste. There are no difficulties during planting and care. The variety stores well and tolerates drought.

Lasunak - a variety that is most often used in the production of chips, alcohol, starch, and dry puree, as it has a good taste and can be stored for a long time. The weight of the tuber ranges from 150-200 grams, which indicates the fairly large size of the tubers of the variety. Due to the structure of the fruit, it quickly boils, turning into crumbly and very tender pulp. It is great for making French fries, chips, boiling and preparing the most delicious dishes.

Arosa - an early and tasty variety used in the preparation of French fries and chips. It has a good taste, dense structure and does not darken during processing. It is highly valued due to its cultivation characteristics. This vegetable copes well with drought and does not require constant artificial irrigation. Productivity is also at a very high level - one bush brings up to 20 potatoes. Thus, from one hectare you can harvest up to 45-50 tons of healthy and tasty potatoes. The root crop ripens in just 70-75 days.

Zhukovsky early - elite potato, famous for its unpretentiousness to any weather conditions. This variety does not tolerate cold and hot weather. He will delight you with a stable harvest and excellent taste of his tubers.

Special varieties

Sweet potato - feed and food species with a rich sweet taste. The weight of one vegetable can reach 3-5 kilograms. Sweet potatoes are incredibly healthy and are used in many dishes.

Tomato - an exotic British invention, which is a hybrid of potato and tomato. So, on such a plant not only small cherry tomatoes can grow, but also real edible tubers suitable for human consumption.

Son - the dream of many farmers. The weight of potatoes can reach 400-500 grams, have a pleasant taste and are resistant to degeneration. The peel has a pleasant raspberry hue, the flesh itself is a delicate white color.

Farmer - a hybrid variety with an incredibly early growing season - 50-60 days. It has high yields, but requires constant moisture and heat. The variety is quite resistant to diseases, but does not tolerate overexposure in the ground.

Granada - the latest variety that has all the qualities of an ideal nutritious vegetable. The variety has a high yield, is unpretentious to environmental conditions and also has a pleasant taste.

Jewel - is an ultra-early variety. Also, this variety is a record holder not only for the speed of ripening, but also for the amount of crop harvested at one time.

Wild potatoes - represents the Nightshade family and is a relative of the cultivated potato. It was found in 16 countries around the world. Growing in harsh terrain, it acquired a number of properties that allowed it to form powerful tubers that are resistant to harmful factors. Potato species that grow in the wild are used to crossbreed with cultivated potatoes to help create new potato varieties.

Multicolored species

Colored potatoes is a new direction in the field of breeding. The creation of varieties with characteristic bright colors has gained incredible popularity and attracted the attention of many researchers and exotic chefs. Now this industry continues to develop and gain new momentum, and descriptions of potatoes of this kind can increasingly be found in magazines and blogs.

The properties of potatoes of unusual colors do not actually differ from ordinary varieties of this vegetable. However, colored potatoes are somewhat richer in vitamins, antioxidants and have an increased level of insulin, which helps improve a person’s well-being and replenish vitality.

Also, colored potatoes have their own nature. Thus, nature was able to independently create new varieties of potatoes that are not inferior in their exoticism to many fruits. This factor is highly valued among breeders. These new varieties have recently begun to appear in the public domain and become widespread in wide circles.

The beneficial properties of multi-colored potatoes depend on the richness of their color. The brighter the color of a vegetable, the more beneficial and nutritious it will be for the human body.

Blue potatoes or Vitelotte Noire - a variety of French origin. It is distinguished by its bright blue flesh and almost black skin. The weight of one potato is small and reaches only 70 grams, however, it is incredibly nutritious. The vegetable has a fairly high density, so it has good shelf life.

Black potatoes or Faerber - the variety is attractive for its appearance. It has a completely black skin and dark purple flesh. The taste is no different from ordinary potatoes, however, it contains quite a lot of starch, since when cooked it becomes crumbly. This species, which has joined new potato varieties, loves fertile soils rich in nutrients and moisture.

Purple potatoes- The variety has a pronounced purple color. It is rich in vitamins and retains its rich color even during heat treatment. Thanks to the thick peel, the vegetable is well stored, while retaining all its nutritional and beneficial properties.

Red potatoes or All Red - an incredibly tasty variety that was bred in America. It is distinguished by a red peel and soft pink flesh inside. The tubers are quite small and weigh only 50 grams. Red potatoes have become popular due to their delicate taste. This and many other varieties are actively cultivated in the agricultural town of Samokhvalovichi. It is in this small Belarusian town that breeders grow elite potato seeds, which are distinguished by their yield and excellent taste characteristics.

Botanical description of potatoes

Potato is a perennial herbaceous tuberous plant. In culture, it is cultivated as an annual plant, because its entire life cycle, from tuber germination to the formation and formation of mature tubers, takes place during one growing season.

Potatoes are usually propagated vegetatively - by tubers. It can be successfully propagated by parts of tubers, as well as by sprouts and cuttings. In breeding practice, seed propagation is often used. Potatoes belong to the Solanaceae family, to the genus Solanum tuberosum L. - the species that is most widely used in cultivation. Other types of potatoes, distinguished by many valuable biological and economically useful traits, are often used in breeding to develop new varieties.

Potato stems are mostly erect, less often deviating to the side. The color of the stems is green, however, in some varieties it is masked by anthocyanin, which gives the stems a reddish-brown tint. The intensity of stem pigmentation depends on varietal characteristics, cultivation conditions, lighting, moisture availability and other factors.

Potato leaves that appear during the germination of tubers or seeds are simple, entire. As the plant grows, discontinuous, unpaired, pinnately dissected leaves are formed. Each such leaf consists of several pairs of lateral lobes placed one against the other, intermediate lobes between them and a terminal lobe. The lateral lobes and lobes sit on rods attached to the rod, which passes into the petiole. The lobules, depending on their position, are divided into series: final, first, second, third and fourth.

The structure and degree of dissection of the leaves are important varietal characteristics.

Potato flowers are collected in inflorescences, which are diverging curls located on a common peduncle of varying lengths. Pedicel articulated. Flowers of quintuple type. The calyx of the flower is spano-five-petalled, the sepals are fused at the base. The corolla is wheel-shaped, consists of five fused petals. The color of the corolla is varied: white, blue, dark blue-violet, red-violet with various shades. There are five stamens in the middle of the flower. They consist of anthers. The pistil consists of a stigma, a style and an ovary. Potatoes are self-pollinating plants, but most varieties are sterile and only a few are fertile.

The fruit of the potato is a two-locular, multi-seeded, juicy green berry of spherical or oval shape. When ripe, the berries turn white and acquire a pleasant strawberry scent. They are not suitable for human consumption due to the large amount of corned beef they contain. The seeds are small, flat, with a bent embryo, light yellow in color. The weight of 1000 seeds is about 0.5 grams.

The root system of potatoes grown from tubers is fibrous. It is a collection of root systems of individual stems. The root system has germinal, or primary roots, formed at the beginning of tuber germination, near-stolon roots, which appear throughout the growing season and are located in groups of 4 - 5 near each stolon, and stolon roots located on the stolons.

A potato tuber is a thickened and shortened stem. At an early age, the tuber has small scaly leaves that do not contain chlorophyll; resting buds are formed in the axils of the scaly leaves, forming the so-called eyes. Mature tubers are covered with a thin skin of cork tissue, which does not allow the tubers to dry out and protects them from diseases. The shape of the tubers is quite diverse and is characteristic of each variety.

In its development, the potato plant in our conditions goes through three of the four known development phases:

1) shoots;

2) budding;

3) flowering.

If planted early (early May), its shoots will appear in 30–35 days in the first ten days of June. Budding is usually observed at the beginning, and flowering in mid-July.

Requirements for growing conditions.

The most stable and high yields are obtained in areas with moderate temperatures during the growing season – 17 – 22 °C. Germination of tubers begins when the soil temperature at the depth of their embedding is more than 7°C. In the conditions of Transbaikalia, such warming of the soil with a flat surface is usually observed in early May.

The optimal flowering temperature is 18 – 22°C, for tuber formation – 15 – 19°C. At 28°C and above, tuber formation stops. This leads to yield loss due to the so-called “aging” of tubers, in which they prematurely stop their further growth. The combination of prolonged warming of the soil with a subsequent decrease in its temperature during this period (especially with a lack of moisture and on sparse plantings) can lead to the development of malformed tubers. Their growth is also possible, during which the development of nodules of the second and subsequent orders is possible.

These phenomena are generally not typical for our conditions, although they can be observed in some years with hot, dry weather in August.

For the full development of plants of early and mid-early varieties, the sum of temperatures above 10 degrees is required: 1000 - 1400 ° C, late 1400 - 1600 ° C. Consequently, potatoes in Transbaikalia can be grown in any agricultural zone. However, in the forest-steppe, where the frost-free period is shorter, late varieties manage to form a good commercial harvest. Such a danger for these varieties also exists in steppe and dry-steppe regions due to the possibility of early frosts in the 3rd decade of August.

Potatoes are very demanding on moisture conditions due to the formation of a significant amount of organic matter with a high water content (in tubers - about 75%, in tops - 76 - 84%). According to the Research Institute of Potato Farming, this crop consumes 650–1040 tons of water for each ton of tubers on loamy soil and 1100–1370 tons of water on sandy loam soil.

The transpiration coefficient for the south of Western and Eastern Siberia varies from 350 to 620. The optimal soil moisture for potatoes is 60 – 80% HB.

At the beginning of growth and development, this crop consumes little water due to the poor development of the above-ground mass. Thanks to this, as well as some physiological characteristics (the presence of glandular hairs capable of condensing atmospheric moisture on the leaves; the role of the mother tuber as an insurance reserve of water), potatoes tolerate spring and early summer drought, which is characteristic of our conditions.

The greatest need for water is during the budding and flowering phases. In our conditions, this usually coincides with the season of maximum precipitation, which has a beneficial effect on the harvest.

It is undesirable for potatoes to over-moisten the soil during the period of active tuberization and tuber growth, as it can cause the death of stolons and the so-called suffocation of tubers due to lack of oxygen. In Transbaikalia, this phenomenon is observed in some years on soils of heavy mechanical composition with excess precipitation in August.

In general, the most unfavorable moisture conditions for crops in the region are observed in dry steppes in June due to low precipitation (no more than 30 mm).

Potatoes are very sensitive to the presence of air in the soil, which is explained by the high need for oxygen by roots, stolons, maternal and growing young tubers. For example, roots consume about 1 mg per 1 g per day. dry matter, which is much more than that of grain crops.

The optimal density of the topsoil layer is 1.0 – 1.2 g. / cm 3, on sandy soil 1.3 – 1.5 g is allowed. / cm 3. Thus, almost all main types of soils in Transbaikalia, especially the loosest chestnut soils, are suitable for cultivating potatoes.

Deterioration of the soil air regime can be observed in our conditions only with prolonged precipitation in the 2nd half of summer.

Potato is a light-loving plant. With a lack of light, it branches weakly and blooms worse, the stems stretch and lie down.

The above-ground organs of the plant grow and develop better with long days, and tuberization occurs more intensively with short days. The climatic conditions of Transbaikalia correspond to this pattern. During the period of development of the above-ground mass in June - July, the days are longer here, and in August they are shorter.

The optimal leaf surface area is 40–50 thousand m2 per 1 hectare. Rows of plants in a north-south direction are illuminated more evenly throughout the day than in a west-east direction. In our region with a sufficient amount of solar radiation, the problem of placing potato plantings taking into account the illumination of its rows practically does not exist.

When exposed to light, the tubers accumulate the alkaloid solanine. If its content exceeds the norm (20 mg per 100 g of raw tubers), the use of potatoes for food and feed purposes is not allowed.

Potatoes have an increased need for root nutrition elements due to a poorly developed root system and the ability to intensively accumulate dry matter.

With a harvest of 100 centners of tubers and a corresponding amount of tops, it removes from the soil 45 - 50 kg of nitrogen, 20 - 25 kg of phosphorus, 80 - 100 kg of potassium, 25 - 35 kg of calcium and 5 - 10 kg of magnesium. The plant's maximum need for these elements is during the budding and flowering phases, when the highest increase in above-ground mass is observed.

In general, potatoes are considered a potassium-loving crop. Potassium increases plant resistance to late blight and ring rot, as well as to low temperatures and frosts. The latter property is very valuable for our region, where the return of cold weather with severe frosts is possible before the 2nd decade of June, and autumn frosts can occur as early as the end of August.

If there is a lack of nitrogen and phosphorus in the soil, the potato root system and tops develop poorly, and overall plant development is delayed, especially flowering and ripening.

In Transbaikalia, when cultivating potatoes on soils that are light in mechanical composition and rich in potassium, there is no urgent need for additional application. The yield-limiting factor here is, in most cases, nitrogen deficiency.

If there is a lack of calcium and magnesium in the soil, the supply of other nutrients and iron to the plant slows down - the conditions for the formation of chlorophyll and the process of tissue respiration worsen. Microelements also influence the quantity and, especially, the quality of the harvest: molybdenum, boron, copper, manganese, zinc, cobalt.

Potatoes can grow and develop in acidic and slightly alkaline soils, but the optimal acidity for them is pH 5 – 6.

In their development, potato plants in our conditions go through 3 of 4 known phases:

1) shoots;

2) budding;

3) flowering.

With early planting (early May), its shoots appear after 30 - 35 days, in the first ten days of June. Budding is usually observed at the beginning, and flowering in mid-July.

Due to the short frost-free period in Transbaikalia, potatoes do not reach the stage of natural tops dying. However, in some years in dry-steppe areas it is possible in early varieties.

Zoned varieties.

Planting material, first of all, must be varietal. When growing potatoes, it is necessary to cultivate only zoned varieties as those most adapted to local soil and climatic conditions. In Buryatia it is Volzhanin, Polet and good.

Volzhanin: bred at the Ulyanovsk experimental station of the Research Institute of Chemical Chemistry. Bush of medium height, moderately leafy. The stem is moderately or strongly colored with anthocyanin along its entire length. The leaf is dark green, medium dissected. The flower is white, with a yellow star. The berry is rarely formed. The tubers are white, oval, with white flesh. The eyes are of medium depth, the sprouts are red-violet.

Medium early, table. It has increased drought and heat resistance. High-yielding. Starch content is average – 13.6 – 15.9%. The taste and keeping quality of the tubers are good. Moderately resistant to late blight and weakly resistant to common scab. According to 4-year research in the steppe zone, it is one of the most productive varieties in Buryatia. Responsive to fertilizers and irrigation.

Flight: bred at the Tulun breeding station. Medium-height bush with good foliage. The stem is weakly stained with anthocyanin. The leaf is dark green, medium dissected. The flower is white. Does not form berries. The tubers are red, oval, with white flesh. The eyes are small.

Early, dining. Not drought resistant. Very high-yielding, as it is extremely responsive to the use of fertilizers, low starch content - 10.7 - 13.4%. The taste of the tubers is satisfactory, their keeping quality is good and they are not resistant to late blight.

Good: Bred at the Belarusian Research Institute of Potato and Horticulture.

The bush is compact, moderately leafy. Stems are weakly branched. The leaf is reduced green, matte, medium-dissected. Large red-violet flower. Berry formation is abundant. The tubers are yellow, oval and round, with a blunt apex, with white flesh.

Medium early, table purpose. High-yielding. Starch content is average – 13.0 – 16.3%. The taste of the tubers and their keeping quality are good. Highly resistant to late blight, which is confirmed by studies of the BSAA 1994-1997 conducted by A. Kushnarev and G. Anosov.

Preparation of potato seed material is the most critical stage in the entire technology of its cultivation. The timing and quality of planting, the productivity of planting units and, to a large extent, the final result - the harvest - depend on it. (A. Kushnarev 1999).

Today, potatoes occupy a significant niche in the diet in many parts of the world. Due to its nutritional value, relative cheapness and wide distribution, this vegetable is often called the “second bread”. Despite its apparent simplicity, the structure of potatoes is much more complex, and a detailed consideration of this issue will be useful for many agricultural producers and ordinary summer residents.

How did potatoes conquer Europe and Russia?

The homeland of potatoes is Central and Latin America. Spanish explorers began introducing potatoes to Europe in the late 16th century. At first, European kings and nobility appreciated only the flowers of the plant, which they used as a decorative decoration. Peasants zealously rejected this vegetable because they were poorly informed about the nutritional properties of the tubers themselves. Frequent poisonings from potato fruits and berries often led to the fact that, in a fit of anger, peasants simply uprooted the plants and burned them in the fire. The pleasant aroma of baked tubers obviously made people try them. So, gradually, the attitude of Europeans towards the new vegetable changed dramatically.

Potatoes appeared in Rus' during the time of Peter I. The Tsar, as a lover of everything European, brought a small batch of potatoes from Holland and ordered them to be handed over to the peasants for breeding. The lack of necessary knowledge had bitter consequences similar to what happened before to peasants in Europe. In addition, many clergy convinced illiterate people about the inadmissibility of growing foreign fruit and equated it with a sinful act.

Plant structure

Potatoes belong to the nightshade family. This is a perennial plant, however, for agricultural production purposes, potatoes are grown as an annual crop. The generally accepted method of propagation is planting tubers, however, experts also use seeds for selective work. The biological characteristics of potatoes as a crop lie in the specific formation of the root system, tubers and aerial parts of the plant.

Root system

There are two types of potato root system. A plant grown from seed has an embryonic taproot with a large number of small roots. Secondary roots are also formed at the base of the stem. Potatoes grown from a tuber have a fibrous root system consisting of sprout, near-stolon and stolon roots.

The usual depth of the potato root system is 25-40 cm, that is, the root mass is mainly located at the depth of the arable layer. In some cases, the roots can go to a depth of 80 cm or more. Late varieties have a more developed root system than their early counterparts.

Interesting facts: you can increase the yield by deepening the arable layer, for example, up to 70 cm. Thus, the number of tubers will increase significantly.

In addition to the usual roots, in the underground part of the plant there are stolons - shoots growing from the mother tuber. During development, the stolons grow and young tubers begin to form on young shoots. Stolons are easy to distinguish from roots: they are lighter in color and thicker.

Tuber

Many people believe that the tuber is the fruit of the potato. In fact, a tuber is part of an underground stem or stolon, and to be more precise, a tuber is a modified shoot. The plant accumulates starch, sugar and other useful substances necessary for further development.

The potato tuber has a unique structure and appearance. On the smooth and dense surface of the tuber there are always so-called “eyes”, small black dots and scars.

The eyes are the buds from which the plant stems sprout. The structure of the ocelli is quite interesting: near the main bud, in each of the ocelli there are always several additional buds, which are activated if the main one is damaged. Each tuber can have from 4 to 15 eyes. They are located on the upper half of the tuber.

The structure of a potato tuber also includes lentils - small points through which gas exchange occurs in the tubers. The formation of lentils occurs in parallel with the formation of the peel. If there is too much moisture in the soil or the soil is clogged, then loose white new growths appear on the lentils, which help absorb air. An increase in the size of the lentils is a bad signal, indicating that gas exchange in the tuber is impaired or it is affected by disease.

Scars that vaguely resemble eyebrows are atrophied scaly leaves that appear at an early stage of tuber development. It is in the axils of these leaves that buds later form.

The skin of the tubers themselves can be smooth, mesh or flaky, depending on the specific variety. The thickness of the periderm depends not only on the species, but also on weather and climatic conditions, soil quality and fertilizers. For example, the use of phosphorus-based fertilizers significantly thickens the peel, while potassium fertilizers, on the contrary, make the periderm thin.

Stem

The potato stem is formed from a tuber bud. Since there are always several buds, the stems also grow from 2-3 pieces or more, depending on the variety and size of the tuber itself. Several stems form a bush. In cross section they have a faceted shape (3-4 sides); much less often the stem looks rounded. Often the bushes reach a height of 80-90 cm, however, such luxurious plants often give a poor harvest, because all the strength goes into the development of the bush. Typically, this happens when there is an excess of fertilizers in the soil.

Each stem has wing-like appendages along its entire length.

Leaves

Each potato variety has its own characteristics, including the number, size and shape of leaves. An experienced gardener can easily identify the variety by the appearance of the green mass. The potato leaf is intermittently unpaired and pinnately dissected. On the main rod, between the paired lobes, smaller lobules are usually formed, and between them, in turn, there are lobules of even smaller size.

There are three degrees of dissection: weak, medium and strong. On a weakly dissected leaf there is one pair of lobules, but there are no lobules at all. The strongly dissected leaf has more than 2 pairs of lobules and many lobules.

The structure of the leaves also differs in the way the lobes, lobes and lobes are placed. If they overlap each other, creating the appearance of a continuous leaf, then this type is called densely divided. If the distance between the leaf elements is large enough, then we have a sparsely divided leaf type.

Flower

As you know, several centuries ago, a potato flower attached to clothing was considered a sign of belonging to the aristocracy.

Potato flowers have a rather complex structure. The inflorescence has the shape of a complex curl and can be spreading or compact. The peduncle, peduncle and flower form the inflorescence. In addition to these components, the inflorescence of some potato varieties contains top leaves.

The flower itself, the structure of which we are considering, consists of 5 sepals collected in a cup, 5 petals forming a corolla, 5 stamens and a pistil. The flower may have narrow, broadly awl-shaped and long leaf-shaped sepals.

The flower may be white, blue, purple or another color. After flowering is completed, the fruit ripens - a green poisonous berry, reaching 2 cm in diameter. The structure of the berry is quite simple: it is divided into two nests, each of which contains many small flattened seeds.

Despite the relatively low content of nutrients in potatoes, this root vegetable occupies an important place in the diet of many peoples. The advantages of the vegetable are the relative ease of cultivation, decent yield, and, of course, the excellent taste of potatoes.

Potato, or tuberous nightshade, is a perennial tuberous plant from the flowering division, class Dicotyledons, order Solanaceae, family Solanaceae, genus Nightshade.

The name “potato” (lat. Solanum tuberosum), by which today’s average person knows this plant (vegetable), was proposed by Caspar Baugin in 1596. The Italians, due to the external similarity of the fruiting bodies with potato tubers, began to call them “tartuffolli” or “tartofel”. From this word a German version of the name for underground fruits “Kartoffel” was formed, which gave it its Russian name.

Potatoes - description and appearance. The structure of plants and vegetables.

The number of stems in one plant ranges from 4 to 8-10. Their height, depending on the potato variety, may not exceed 30 cm or reach 1.5 meters. On the erect, fleshy stems of a green (sometimes with a brown tint) color, peculiar ribs are clearly visible. Dark green potato leaves on short petioles rise in a spiral shape from the base to the top.

From the part of the potato stem immersed in the ground, shoots (stolons) diverge in different directions, the length of which can reach 0.5 m. At their ends there are potato tubers, the thin outer shell of which is formed by cork tissue. On their surface there are depressions called ocelli. They contain several buds, from which a new plant develops. The flowers of the plant, collected at the top of the stems, are usually white. However, there are varieties with pink, blue or purple flowers. Below you can see what a potato stem looks like, as well as the detailed structure of a potato.

The above-ground potato fruit is a poisonous green berry, shaped like a miniature tomato. As it ripens, it acquires a whitish tint.

The appearance, weight, and color of the top layer of the potato tuber and its pulp differ depending on the variety. The skin of the tuber can be colored in various shades of brown, yellow, pink or purple. Therefore, it is impossible to give a definite answer to the question of what color the potatoes are.

When cut, the potato flesh is usually white, but there are varieties with dark yellow, cream or even purple, blue and pink coloring.

The shape of potato tubers can be round, oblong, spherical or abstract, with protrusions and irregularities, and the weight of individual specimens can reach 1 kg or more.

Potato varieties - photos and descriptions.

Today, approximately 5,000 varieties of potatoes are known. Of these, 260 are recommended for breeding on large farms and for private use in Russia.

According to practical use, all varieties are divided into the following groups:

“Phelox” is a variety of table potato with elongated tubers weighing up to 110 g. The flesh is light yellow, the skin is darker.

“Red Scarlett” is a potato variety with oval tubers weighing up to 85 g. One bush contains up to 23 potatoes with smooth red skin and yellow flesh.

“Nevsky” - potatoes with oval-shaped tubers with pink eyes and weighing up to 130 g. The top layer and flesh are white.

“Vitalot” is a variety of purple potatoes, has oblong-shaped tubers up to 10 cm long. Highly starchy, boils heavily, and retains its purple-blue color when cooked. It ripens late and has low yields, so it is not grown on an industrial scale.

Technical varieties of potatoes– used as raw materials in the industrial production of alcohol and starch. The starch content in tubers exceeds 18%. The most commonly grown varieties are:

“Accent” - with large potatoes that have a smooth yellow surface and light creamy flesh.

“Mountaineer” – medium-sized potatoes. The yellow peel is covered with a fine mesh with numerous small eyes. The tuber is cream-colored when cut.

“Outflow” - under one bush there can be up to 10 potatoes weighing about 135 g. The surface of the yellow peel is covered with a sparse mesh. The flesh is cream colored.

Fodder potato varieties– used as livestock feed. A characteristic feature of fodder potatoes is their high protein content, reaching 3%. Among them are the following varieties:

"Woltman" is a fodder potato variety with red tubers with numerous light eyes and white flesh. They have an irregular angular shape.

"Lorch" - oblong tubers, covered with a smooth beige skin, have white pulp with a protein content of up to 2.2% and vitamin C up to 18%. Numerous shallow eyes are located throughout the surface of the tuber.

Universal potato varieties occupy an intermediate position between table varieties and potatoes intended for technical use.

"Berlichingen" is a potato variety with red, oval-shaped tubers. The peel is strong and thick with superficial eyes. The white flesh darkens when cooked.

“Arosa” is a variety with oval reddish tubers and yellow flesh. The stems are spreading with red-violet corollas.

"Sante" - has oval-shaped tubers with light yellow skin and pulp.

“Lasunok” - its medium-sized oval-shaped tubers with a mesh skin of light yellow color and creamy pulp.

Potato ripening period.

There is a classification of potatoes according to their ripening time:

Early potato varieties. The maturity of early potatoes occurs after 50-60 days, so they are practically not intended for long-term storage. The following varieties are popular:
- Minerva;
- Ariel;
- Felox;
- Red Scarlett et al.
Mid-early potato varieties. To obtain a good harvest of mid-early potatoes, planting material is germinated in advance. The ripening period of this species is up to 80 days. The most popular varieties are:
- Carat;
- Santa;
- Adretta, etc.
Mid-season potato varieties. The duration of the growing season for mid-season potatoes reaches 100 days. The following varieties are in great demand:
- Nevsky;
- Altair;
- Betina;
- Rosinka et al.
Mid-late and late potato varieties. The ripening period ranges from 100 to 120 days. It is intended for long-term storage. Such planting material can be planted without prior germination. Good results are obtained by planting such popular varieties as:
- Bernadette;
- Berlinger;
- Folva;
- Accent;
- Slavyanka, etc.