POTATO-A CARBOHYDRAT RICH TUBEROUS VEGETABLE Dr. S.

ESWARA REDDY
Potato is one of the major food crops in the world next only to rice, wheat and maize. . It is a source of nutritive food containing all the major nutrients like proteins, vitamins, calcium, phosphorous and it is a treasure house of carbohydrates. It is easy to cook, boil or bake, whole or smashed, dried or fried and palatable in any form. In the fresh state it has good storage life, which can be extended over a long period by conversion into dry production. Potato, fits in rotation crop with others crops. It is included in 4 crop rotation, wheat (January-April), green gram (April-June), Maize (June-September), Potato (October-December) as advocated by the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Simla. This would help in avoiding the risk of perpetuation of soil borne diseases such as black scurf, brown rot and nematodes. Potato is a stem tuber. It is a bushy, succulent herbaceous annual. It has the underground stem known as Stolon which may be branched, some times the stolon may emerge through the soil and acquire the growth of a normal plant. The stolon when caused to grow, enlarges and forms the tuber. Spaced on the tuber are the eyes, which bear buds. The development of tubers continue till the vines die. Potatoes are harvested when the vines have fully ripened and the tubers are mature. Immature potatoes shrink severely, bruise easily and will not kept hall. The tubers immediately after harvest should be properly cured in an airy and shady place for 1 week before sending to cold storage. Early varieties yield 20 tonnes / ha where as Late varieties 30 tonnes / ha The harvested tubers can best be stored in cold storage. Best storage

temperature and humidity conditions for potatoes are 2.2C to 3.3C and 75 to 80 per

cent. Potatoes stored at less than 0C suffer from internal breakdown of tissues known as Black Heart. Cold stored tubers should be kept for 12 to 24 hours at 15C before being exposed to atmospheric combinations. This ensures proper germination. The indigenous methods viz., room storage and pit storage are also used for storage of potatoes.

The following suggestions are made to produce healthy seeds on the plains of India. 1. Use only certified, disease-free seeds. Select large sized tubers (4 to 6 cm in diameter) with multiple sprouts. 2. Apply systemic granules viz., thimet at 15 kg/ha at the time of planting against aphids and jassids. 3. Plant the crop in autumn as early as possible, preferably by the end of September. The planting should never be delayed beyond the first week of October. In periods of October December there will be low incidence of aphids and leaf hoppers which are the main against to spread the viral and fungal diseases. 4. Sow at closer spacing on medium fertile soil. 5. Rogue out any diseased or off-type plants during growing season. 6. When the crop has tuberized well by the middle of December, restrict irrigation and later with hold it completely so as to wilt before the aphids buildup population by the end of January. If the crop is still green, kill the haulms with a 2 per cent solution of copper sulphate or cut green haulms. 7. Leave the crop underground till the end of February for hardening the skin of tuber. 8. In early to mid March harvest the tubers and sort-out.

9. Treat the seed tubers with Agallol-3 for 3 to 5 minutes against surface borne diseases. 10. Store the produce separately in cold storage as seed for subsequent autumn planting. An isolation distance of 30 m should be maintained between any two varieties grown for seed crop

can reach the author at dr_esreddy@yahoo.co.in 12th jan 2013