Processing potato tubers before planting: how to pickle against diseases and pests
Potato tubers you germinated, and now the most crucial moment is approaching - their timely and correct planting in the ground... However, first it is very desirable to carry out the treatment of potato tubers from diseases and pests.
Next, we will talk about what effective dressing agents exist (fungicidal and insecticidal agents), how to use them (prepare and use solutions), what else can be added to the pest hole (Colorado potato beetle and wireworm) for a better effect, and also how to stimulate more quick shoots and increase productivity.
Content
How to process potato tubers before planting against diseases and pests
Preparations for processing potato tubers can be of 3 varieties:
- fungicides (against diseases - rhizoctonia, fusarium);
Unfortunately, no treatment will save you from late blight, so we suggest that you familiarize yourself with this material to protect potatoes from late blight.
- insecticides (against pests - wireworm, Colorado potato beetle, bear, aphids - a carrier of viral diseases);
By the way! The site has separate articles on how to deal with wireworm, Colorado potato beetle and bear.
- complex fungicidal and insecticidal agents (works simultaneously against diseases and pests).
Also separately you can allocate funds to stimulate growth (growth promoters).
Note! Biologicals are shown in bold.
To protect against disease
To treat potato tubers against diseases, the following fungicidal agents are suitable for you (the active ingredient of the drug and the scope of its application are given in brackets, i.e. against what / whom it works against):
- Fitosporin (biological product, Bacillus subtilis strain 26 D, from rhizoctonia, various wilting, including fusarium and other diseases);
- Sinclair (fludioxonil, for rhizoctonia, fusarium).
- Maxim Dachnik (fludioxonil, for rhizoctonia, fusarium).
Sinclair and Maxim Dachnik are analogous drugs (they have the same active ingredient - fludioxonil).
From pests
The following insecticidal agents can be used as protection against insects and pests:
- Taboo (imidacloprid, from wireworm and Colorado potato beetle).
- Imidor Pro (imidacloprid, from wireworm and Colorado potato beetle, aphids).
- Matador (imidacloprid, from wireworm and Colorado potato beetle, aphids).
Relevant only for residents of Ukraine.
- Aktara (thiamethoxam, from wireworm and Colorado potato beetle).
Note! The following funds are issued in granular form, i.e. you need to add granules to the soil before planting the tubers.
- Grizzly bear (diazinon, from a bear).
- Provotox (diazinon, from wireworm)
- Terradox (diazinon, from bear and wireworm).
Interesting! Grizzly, Provotox and Terradox have the same active ingredient, however, the manufacturer claims that the products protect against different pests.
- Force (tefluthrin, from wireworm).
Complex - from diseases and pests
To protect potatoes from both diseases and pests, you can treat the tubers with one of the following combined insecticidal-fungicidal agents:
- Taboo TRIO (imidacloprid + fludioxonil + colloidal silver, from the Colorado potato beetle, wireworm, rhizoctonia and fusarium).
- Select TOP (thiamethoxam + difenoconazole + fludioxonil, for rhizoctonia, silvery scab, fusarium, phomosis, alternaria, anthracnose, wireworm, Colorado potato beetle)
- Prestige (imidacloprid + pencycuron, from the Colorado potato beetle, wireworm, aphids - a carrier of viruses, rhizoctonia and common scab).
Note! Many of these preparations can be sprayed on potatoes while growing in the garden. Therefore, take a close look at the list and study the instructions for use better.
To stimulate growth and development, increase yields
Today there are a huge number of different drugs that provide both protective (but only against diseases) and stimulating effect on potato tubers, among which are:
- Ribav Extra (biological product, L-alanine + L-glutamic acid, to increase field germination of tubers, resistance to late blight and viral diseases, early and general yield).
- Fitozont (biological product, L-alanine + L-glutamic acid, to increase field germination of tubers, resistance to late blight and viral diseases, early and general yield).
Ribav Extra and Fitozont are identical products with the same active ingredient.
- Epin and Zircon.
- NV-101 (biological product).
- Gumi (Kuznetsova) - biological product.
Pharmacy and folk remedies
Mustard and legume seeds
Adding seeds of these plants to the hole before planting the tubers will scare away the potatoes wireworm.
Egg shells and onion skins
In the fight with wireworm may I help eggshell and especially onion peel, which fall asleep by handfuls in the hole before planting the tubers.
Also, according to gardeners' reviews, onion peels help from Colorado potato beetle.
Birch tar
The smell of birch tar cannot stand wireworm, so you can pickle the tubers before planting in its solution (2-3 hours or 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water).
Preplanting tubers, of course, will not protect your bushes from the Colorado potato beetle, and they will have to be processed separately during the growing season.
Ivermectin
This pharmacy can also help you fight with wireworm and nematode (But it won't save you from the Colorado potato beetle!).
Potassium permanganate solution
Of course, you can process tubers the old fashioned way. from diseases in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, but this is a very weak fungicide. Just do not try to prepare a more concentrated solution: they can burn the delicate rudiments of sprouts and roots.
Wood ash
The simplest and most economical, but no less effective means for pre-sowing treatment of potato tubers is wood ash... The solution is prepared as follows: about 1 kilogram of ash is taken and dissolved in 10 liters of water, and then tubers are dipped into it right before planting. It turns out a kind of dusting. Thus, this potash fertilizer will contribute to more active emergence of seedlings.
Ash can also be poured dry into the holes before planting the tubers.
Tips and tools from YouTube host Procvetok
On the Procvetok channel, recommendations were given to treat potato tubers with the following preparations:
Note! However, in the comments to the video, many subscribers complain that after processing the potatoes according to these recommendations, they lost all seed tubers and missed planting dates. So, the sprouted sprouts turned black and fell off dry (rotted and dried up), and those that did not sprout at all (most of them) became covered with white mold.
- To protect tubers from all kinds of diseases, they can be processed in solution methylene blue. If you have a pharmacy 1% solution, then to prepare the solution you need to dilute 40-50 ml of the product in 10 liters of water. If a dosage of 50 ml per 100 liters of water is written on the bottle, then do 10.
After the tubers dry up, they can be processed linseed oil (Without diluting with water!).
- Treat pests in soapy turpentine solution (100-150 grams of soap per 10 liters of water + 1 liter of gum turpentine).
- A solution of a pharmaceutical preparation is suitable to stimulate growth. Tryptophan (L-Tryptophan is an amino acid). To prepare the solution, you need to dissolve 20 tablets of 200 mg in 10 liters of water, pour the resulting solution into a sprayer and process the tubers.
In Russia, this remedy costs simply unthinkable money (almost 900 rubles for 60 tablets, while in Belarus they ask for only about 70 rubles for 30 tablets).
Alternatively, it is proposed to carry out a complex treatment, also adding methylene blue to the tryptophan solution, followed by treatment with linseed oil after drying.
Important! Before using these processing tools, be sure to read the beginning of the paragraph.
How to properly handle potato tubers
The procedure for processing potatoes before planting, as a rule, consists of preparation of working solution and subsequent dipping tubers into a container with a solution (according to the instructions, as a rule, for 1-2 minutes, but not more than 20-30 minutes).
However, often a simple dipping or spraying tubers with a solution.
However, after processing, do not rush to immediately plant the tubers in the ground: you must wait until they are completely dry.
Important!All chemicals should be used only according to the attached instructions (and in the recommended dose) and be sure to follow safety precautions.
Video: pre-planting treatment of potatoes from diseases and pests with biological preparations Gumi and Fitosporin
Advice! And about that how to plant potatoes in the open field in spring, detailed in this article of our site.