What are the methods for sowing potatoes? What are the advantages?

Potato is a vegetable crop with a large planting area in our country, and it is also a favorite food crop. In terms of sowing methods, there are two methods: ridge cultivation and flat cultivation. Next, I will talk about their sowing methods and their advantages and disadvantages in detail.

1. Ridge cultivation

1. Advantages of ridge cultivation

Because potato tubers expand underground, they are more suitable for ridge cultivation. Because ridge farming can increase ground temperature and promote early maturity of potatoes, although this sowing method is not drought-resistant, it can prevent waterlogging. Moreover, ridge cultivation is convenient for weeding, cultivating and cultivating the soil, and is also conducive to concentrated fertilization and watering. In ridge farming, since the ridge body is higher than the ground, after shoveling and cultivating to loosen the soil, it is conducive to gas exchange and can provide better environmental conditions for the expansion of tubers. Most of the planting areas in our country adopt the form of ridge cultivation.

2. Sowing methods in ridge cultivation

There are various sowing methods in ridge cultivation, and each place has different characteristics. The specific sowing should be flexible according to the actual local planting conditions. The main considerations for application and sowing methods are to help preserve seedlings and facilitate later management. According to the position of potato pieces in the soil layer when sowing, complex sowing methods can generally be divided into the following three categories.

①. Sowing on the ridge

Sow the seed potatoes above the ground level or in line with the ground surface. This sowing method is suitable for plots where the soil is cold and sticky in spring and areas where waterlogging occurs frequently in autumn. Due to the higher position of the potato pieces, it can effectively prevent and control the problem of rotten potatoes caused by waterlogging during the potato formation period.

In spring drought and cold areas in the north, plowing the land in spring and re-riding the ridges is likely to cause moisture loss. The original ridges are often used for sowing, which is beneficial to moisture conservation and seedling emergence. It is also more suitable for the plots of the first crop of rice fields under paddy and upland rotation. The commonly used method for sowing on ridges is to use plows and other tools to dig trenches on the top of the original ridges. The depth can be determined according to the moisture content of the soil. Generally, it is about 15 cm. It should not be too shallow or too narrow. Small whole potatoes are sown in the ditch, and organic fertilizer is also applied along the ditch. Finally, a large plow is used to cover the original ridge with soil, and the soil is covered on the top of the ridge to form the original ridge, and then it is pressed again.

The characteristics of sowing on the ridge are that the ridge body is high, the seed potatoes are on top, the covering soil is thin, and the soil temperature is high, which can promote the early emergence of seed potatoes, the emergence of uniform seedlings, and the emergence of strong seedlings. However, because the covering soil is thin and the ridge surface is large and evaporates quickly, it is not drought resistant. If a severe spring drought occurs, it will often lead to lack of seedlings and broken branches. To prevent this phenomenon, the best way is to sow whole potatoes. This method should not apply too much seed fertilizer.

②. Sowing under the ridge

This sowing method is to sow seed potatoes below the ground level. The commonly used methods of sowing under the ridge are:

First, point Laogou sowing method. That is, sowing potatoes in the original ridges and furrows, applying organic fertilizer, then using a plow to break open the original ridges to form new ridges, and finally pressing them again. This method saves labor and time. Planting, fertilizing, and covering the ridges with soil can be carried out separately and simultaneously. The sowing speed is fast, which is conducive to saving farming time. Many extensive plantings in the north use this method. However, the furrows of the selected plot should be clean and used as small root stubble. It is best to be ridden in autumn, or the plot has been cleaned before sowing. If sowing is sown in the original ridge and furrow of a previously barren plot, the grass seeds that fall to the ground will be buried deeply and will often cause grass barrens after being hoed, affecting yield and harvest quality.

The second is to sow the original ridge with moisture. It is similar to the seeding method in the old furrow, but the original furrow is first plowed to remove the soil and expose the wet soil. Then small whole potatoes are sown on top, organic fertilizer is applied, and the original furrow is broken to form a new furrow to cover the soil. , finally suppressed. This sowing method is an improvement on the traditional point-laogou sowing method. In some areas, deepening devices behind the plow and on both sides are used to widen and deepen the plowing area, which has an obvious effect of increasing production.

3. Level sowing and then ridging

On the land that was leveled by plowing and raking in the previous autumn, the sowing method of level sowing and then ridging can generally be used. The main purpose of level sowing is Take advantage of the good moisture in the fields in spring to reduce the chance of turning the soil multiple times to lose moisture during farming. After level sowing, there are two ways of ridging: ridgeding and ridgeding after emergence. The specific methods are as follows:

Ditching according to the pre-designed row spacing, mostly mechanical ditching, small plots of land can be ditched manually. .

Use a marker to dig the ditch. The depth of the ditch generally does not exceed 10 cm. Sow small whole potatoes. Pay attention to applying organic fertilizer and seed fertilizer in the ditch, and cover the soil manually or mechanically. Along with plowing, ridges are formed, plowing between the two furrows, and covering the two furrows with soil. Since the covering soil cannot be too thick, the new ridges formed are small ridges, which are then suppressed. If there is no ridge, the sowing furrow can be slightly deeper. After sowing and fertilizing, cover the soil with a long rake, and then suppress it; if the seedlings are ridged, the first cultivating and ridge raising should be done after the seedlings emerge.

If the soil is loose for flat sowing and small seed potatoes are used to promote germination, weeding and soil loosening techniques such as mulching the soil and rake seedlings with nail teeth can be used. Therefore, ridging after level sowing is suitable to take advantage of mechanized operations, but the cultivation technology is more complicated.

2. Flat-cropping cultivation

1. Advantages of flat-cropping cultivation

Flat-cropping cultivation is mostly used to grow potatoes in sandy loam soil in southern my country. The advantage of this sowing method is that it is simple and convenient to operate, saving labor and time.

2. Sowing method for flat cultivation

Generally, there is no ridge after sowing, and the row spacing is reduced to 30 cm to increase the application of organic fertilizer, increase density, and increase yield.

After the previous crop is harvested, the land will be plowed and raked multiple times in conjunction with the application of organic fertilizer. Before sowing, rake the soil to make it even and ready for sowing.

If the soil moisture is not very good, in order to protect the moisture, you can use manual digging for planting. After sowing, use rake to rake the ground once in a forward direction and then once in a horizontal direction to make the ground surface moist, flat and fine. Level, keep the ground as flat as a mirror, the soil as thin as a face, empty at the top and solid at the bottom, protected from wind and moisture.

The above are the commonly used sowing methods in the potato producing areas in the north and south of my country. When sowing, it is necessary to choose the appropriate sowing method based on the actual local conditions to facilitate later field management.