Potatoes
PDFFoliar ferilization in potatoes
Potatoes have a specific claim on the availability of trace nutrients. Trace nutrients possess qualities decisive for yield and decisive for quality in the cultivation of potatoes.
Leaf stalk examinations of many years show, that in the cultivation of potatoes the subject trace elements should find more attention.
Nutrient availability
To be able to plan a fertilization strategy with trace elements, problems of the location have to be recognized first. In this connection, the soil examination is available to the farmer in the first step.
Even if the soil is supplied with nutrients optimally, the needed supply with head-, secondary elements and trace elements is not always protected. Many factors limit the availability and admission from the soil, e.g. high pH values with trace elements and low pH values with main elements and secondary elements, dry, cold, soil compressions and/or wet, and antagonisms (interactions) between the elements (e.g. a too much of potassium limits the availability and admission of magnesium).
To be able to estimate the nutrient situation in your crops better, we recommend you to use the instrument of the leaf stalk analysis. The results of the leaf stalk analysis give you the current supply situation. So you can plan purposefully the effective application of the required trace elements.
With the instrument of the tuber analysis you can get to know whether your fertilization strategy works and or whether you have to adjust your strategy in the coming season.
Seed treatment
Particularly during years with little rain and on light soils, the risk of scab infections is high. A potato plant, which is supplied sufficiently with manganese, can better resist against the scab.
The disinfection with 0,5 l/ha Lebosol®-Mangan GOLD SC is in the practice a measure for the reduction of the scab infestation. The biggest effects are to be expected under dry conditions respectively low rainfalls, even if there is a high content of manganese. Improvement of the efficiency and compatibility of herbicide sprayings with Herbosol®
In her youth development, the potato can hardly suppress weeds, because they rise faster. Therefore an extensive elimination of weeds is a precondition for high yields.
A component to reach this aim is Herbosol® – an additive to the soil herbicides.
The addition of Herbosol® improves the efficiency of the herbicide treatment, because the part of fine drop is reduced, and thereby a better distribution of the herbicides on the dam surface is reached, and it prevents the erosion of the active substances in deeper soil shifts. So the herbicide-sensitive potato germ is protected.
For the rise of the compatibility of the lag herbicid sprayings we recommend the application of 2 - 3 l/ha Aminosol®.
Phosphorus-deficiency
Initial development
Particularly in the youth stage the nutrient appropriation is limited due to the depauperate root system. This applies, first of all, on the nutrients phosphorus, manganese, however, also boron. Especially over the last years no distinct roots could develop. Reasons for this are stress, for example extreme weather situations, and orographic problems such as compressions, tracks, headlands, sinks. The phosphorus lack symptoms on the leaves were observed increasingly.
Therefore, we recommend: for the promotion of the tuber attempt/ thickening of stolones: 2 applications at intervals of 10 to 14 days with 6 l/ha Lebosol®-Magphos and to the support of the tuber growth from 10 mms of tuber diameter: :
6 l/ha Lebosol®-Magphos
Trace nutrient care
The influence of trace elements on yield, particularly, on quality, is also discussed more and more in the cultivation of potatoes. The application of trace elements must be given a practical dimension. Who knows or supposes the problems specified in the table should think about the application of trace elements.
Element
Lack symptoms
Appearances of lacks
Bor (B)
hollowness, iron spotting, low starch content, raised sugar content
sandy soils, high nitrogen and calcium content, low soil content, high pH value, dry, cold and wet
Zink (Zn)
less tubers per shrub, lower radiation tolerance, lower starch contents
high pH value, high phosphorus content in soil, cold and wet
Mangan (Mn)
slower youth development, worse nitrogen utilization, raised scab infestation
sandy, loose soils, dry, cold, and wet, high pH value, low soil contents
Kupfer (Cu)
raised disease predisposition, lower frost tolerance, worse skin development
humous, sandy soils, high pH value, dry, cold and wet, low soil contents
Eisen (Fe)
less chlorophyll, low nitrate efficiency, lower herbicide tolerance
temporarly during cool periods, waterlogged soil, locations with high copper contents, locations rich in lime, high pH value
Based upon the results of leaf stalk monitorings of Lebosol® during the last 10 years we recommend to cover the micronutrient need of your potatoes:
At the beginning of meeting across the rows 1 - 2 x 1 l/ha Lebosol®-Mangan GOLD SC + 1 l/ha Lebosol®-AqueBor SC
or 1 - 2 x 1 - 2 l/ha Lebosol®-QuadroS SC + 1 l/ha Lebosol®-AqueBor
Main recommendations
| Aim/Problem | Recommendation | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Reduction in susceptibility to scab | 0,5 l/ha Lebosol®-Mangan GOLD SC | With dressing |
| Improvement in effectiveness and tolerability of soil-applied herbicides | 0,2 - 0,6 l/ha Herbosol® (increase to 0.6 l/ha on light soils with a low humus content, reduce to 0.2 l/ha for heavy soils with a high humus content) | With soil-applied herbicides |
| Improvement in effectiveness and tolerability of post-emergence herbicide sprays or generally to boost stress tolerance | 2 - 3 l/ha Aminosol® | With post-emergence herbicides, in extreme weather conditions (cold, wet, dry) |
| Tuber set | 2 times 6 l/ha Lebosol®-Magphos | To thicken the stolons |
| Reduction in susceptibility to blue/black spot bruising, potassium supply | 2 times 6 l/ha Lebosol®-Kalium 450 | At tuber set and after flowering |
| Tuber growth, starch content, yield | 2 mal 6 l/ha Lebosol®-Magphos | From a tuber diameter of 10 mm |
| Yield and vitality, macronutrients | 3 - 4 times 4 l/ha Lebosol®-Calcium-Forte SC | From beginning of row closure |
| Boosting of resistance to illness | 4 - 6 l/ha VITALoSol® GOLD SC | From beginning of row closure |
| Yield and vitality, micronutrients |
1 - 2 times 1 l/ha Lebosol®-Mangan GOLD SC + 1 - 2 times 1 l/ha Lebosol®-AqueBor SC |
From beginning of row closure |
| Yield and vitality, macronutrients | 2 - 3 times 2 - 4 l/ha Lebosol®-MagSOFT SC | From beginning of row closure |