The fastest way to germinate autumn potatoes

When planting autumn potatoes , if the seed potatoes are used directly for sowing, problems such as late or uneven emergence will easily occur, affecting the yield. The best way is to germinate the potatoes before sowing. So what is the fastest way to germinate autumn potatoes? Let’s learn more about it below.

1. Germination time

The germination time can be carried out 15-20 days in advance according to the sowing date.

2. Germination method

(1) Germination by chemicals: Use chemicals such as gibberellins to break potato dormancy and promote uniform and strong seedlings. For general varieties, soak them in 5×10-6 gibberellin solution for 5 minutes 5 days before sowing and then germinate for 5 days. In addition, you can also soak the tubers in 1% thiourea solution for 1 hour. After soaking, take them out and place them in moist sand for germination.

(2) Germination on a sand bed: About 25 days before sowing, soak the seed potatoes in clean well water and then spread them on 5 cm thick wet sand for germination. Pay attention to controlling the humidity to prevent the seeds from rotting. Sowing can be done when the sprouts are about 2 cm long.

(3) Stacking for germination: After the soaked seed potatoes are spread out to dry, they are piled for germination. Each pile of seed potatoes is about 30 kg. The pile is covered with moist fine sand (not too wet or too dry), 2-3 cm thick, and then covered with grass and bitter melon. Check the potato pile after 7-10 days, and wait until the sprouts are 1-1.5 cm long. Expose the sprouts to light for 3-4 days and start sowing when the sprouts turn purple.

3. Germination matters

(1) Germination temperature: The ideal temperature for potato germination is 15-20°C. Temperatures that are too high or too low will affect the germination speed and quality.

(2) Maintain appropriate humidity: During the germination period, the humidity of the sand bed or seedling bed should be maintained, which can be maintained by regular watering. Be careful not to make the humidity too high, so as to avoid the young shoots shrinking or dying due to water loss after taking root.

(3) Increase light: When the potato sprouts grow to about 1 cm, use scattered light to strengthen them.

(4) Pay attention to the concentration of the agent: The advantage of treating seed potatoes with gibberellins is that they germinate quickly, but the disadvantage is that the seedlings are thin and long and prone to premature aging, so it is generally used for germination of autumn potatoes. Moreover, the concentration of gibberellin must be strictly prepared during germination, and gibberellin should be used immediately after preparation and should not be used overnight.

In general, the germination method of autumn potatoes is very particular, and you must pay attention to the details. At the same time, when germinating, attention should be paid to controlling the germination environment, such as temperature, humidity, etc., which can effectively promote the germination of autumn potato seed potatoes .