Dark-fruited beauty originally from Ukraine - description of the potato variety "Smuglyanka"

Darkie is one of the most interesting varieties of Ukrainian potatoes, which is rapidly gaining popularity among business farmers and amateur gardeners.

Dark large tubers are not only tasty, but also very useful, rich in vitamins and valuable microelements.

In this article you will find a detailed description of the variety, get acquainted with its characteristics and cultivation features, and find out what diseases it is susceptible to.

Origin

Smuglyanka potatoes were bred by Ukrainian breeders, the originator is NAU of Sumy region. It can be grown in any region with a temperate or warm climate.

Cultivation in industrial conditions is recommended, potatoes are readily planted in personal subsidiary plots and on farms.

Unlike many dark-fruited varieties, Smuglyanka is very productive, responsive to fertilizers. Beautiful, even tubers are suitable for sale or use in food service establishments.

Potatoes "Smuglyanka": variety description and photo

Darkie is a mid-early table variety. The yield is high, with good care and favorable climatic conditions, up to 480 centners can be harvested from 1 hectare.

Advice: It is recommended to dig up the potatoes at the end of the growing season, without allowing them to settle in the ground. Root crops are well stored, without losing their marketable qualities for a long time, transportation over long distances is possible.

You can compare the yield and keeping quality of the variety with others using the table below:

Bushes of medium height, intermediate type, erect. Branching and formation of green mass are moderate. The leaves are medium-sized, dark green, with slightly wavy edges. The flowers are light purple, collected in a compact corolla.

Berries are rarely tied and fall off quickly. The root system is well developed, 10-12 large potatoes are formed under each bush... The amount of small items is insignificant.

Planting care is standard. The potatoes are planted in fully warmed soil, the tubers are placed at a distance of 30 cm from each other. During the season, the bushes spud 2-3 times, dosed watering and one-time feeding are recommended.

For more information about how to feed potatoes, when and how to apply fertilizers, how to do it correctly when planting, read the articles on our website.

Seed material does not degenerate for a long time; for sowing, you need to select large potatoes not damaged by pests with pronounced varietal characteristics.

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the main advantages of the variety:

• great taste of root vegetables;
• early amicable ripening;
• good productivity;
• resistance to mechanical damage;
• immunity to major diseases;
• excellent keeping quality;
• excellent commercial quality of tubers; seed material is not prone to degeneration;
• resistance to weather changes;
• unpretentiousness.

The disadvantage of the variety can be considered susceptibility to attacks by insect pests. Potatoes are sensitive to the nutrient content of the soil; in poor loams, the yield is significantly reduced.

Characteristics

• tubers are large, weighing from 100 to 150 g;
• round-oval shape;
• the tubers are even, neat, without bumps and potholes;
• the peel is dark blue with a purple tint, evenly colored, moderately thin, smooth;
• eyes are superficial, shallow, few in number;
• the cut flesh is white or creamy;
• the starch content is high, ranging from 16 to 20%;
• high content of protein, vitamins, valuable amino acids.

The potato has an excellent taste: very bright, rich, but at the same time delicate... The tubers are neither dry nor watery, after cooking they become crumbly and literally melt in your mouth.

When cutting and boiling, the potatoes do not darken, retaining a pleasant creamy color. Tubers can be boiled, stewed, baked, they make an airy puree. Potatoes are not suitable for making slices of fries.

In the table below you can see what the starch content of different varieties is:

You can see the fruits of Smuglyanka potatoes in the photo:

Growing features

Sufficiently large potatoes with pronounced varietal characteristics are selected for planting.... This selection guarantees a high yield, the tubers will be just as bright and large. It is recommended to mark the bushes suitable for seed material during cultivation and store the harvested seed potatoes separately.

The tubers are pickled, treated with a growth stimulant, and dried. This is followed by germination in the light or in wet sawdust. Cutting the tubers before planting is not recommended.

The Smuglyanka variety prefers light soils based on sand or black soil. The soil must be thoroughly loosened, the remains of plants and other foreign inclusions must be removed from it. It is preferable to plant potatoes in the fields that were occupied by legumes, carrots, cabbage, radish. The plots are changed every 2-3 years. This technique is a good prophylaxis against insect pests, diseases and tuber degeneration.

It is better to plant tubers in holes located at a distance of 30-35 cm from each other. Depth - no more than 10 cm, wide aisles are required. Wood ash or humus is laid out on the holes. During the planting season, you need to spud 1-2 times, forming ridges in the bushes. Frequent weeding or mulching of the soil with straw is recommended.

In dry summers, potatoes need to be watered; a drip or sprinkler system is recommended. The introduction of complete mineral complexes or organic matter will help to increase the yield.

Important: It is necessary to fertilize the plantings no more than 2 times, an excess of fertilizing will cause the accumulation of nitrates in the root crops.

A week before harvesting, all tops are cut from the bushes, the tubers will turn out to be larger, healthy and tasty.

The harvested crop is dried on a border or under a canopy, sorted, and then put away for storage. Tubers for sale can be packed directly on the field.

On our site you will find a lot of useful information about storing potatoes: timing, temperature, possible problems. And also how to store root vegetables in winter, on the balcony, in boxes, in the refrigerator, in a peeled form.

Diseases and pests

The variety is resistant to many diseases of the nightshade: potato crayfish, golden cyst nematode, common scab, various viruses: Fusarium, Alternaria, Verticillosis.

In unfavorable conditions, late blight may damage tubers or leaves. For the prevention of late blight, plantings are abundantly sprayed with copper preparations. The bushes will be protected from root rot or black leg by mulching the soil with cut grass.

Like other dark-fruited varieties, Darkie attracts pests. Landings are threatened by Colorado beetles, wireworms, bears. Periodic spraying with insecticides, pre-treatment of the soil and tubers before planting help.

In the fight against the Colorado potato beetle, chemicals will help: Aktara, Corado, Regent, Commander, Prestige, Lightning, Tanrek, Apache, Tabu.

Potatoes "Darkie" - a young, but very promising variety, rightfully considered the star of Ukrainian selection. It is ahead of competitors in terms of yield, taste, disease resistance, and commercial quality of tubers. Potatoes can be planted in industrial fields or in private gardens, they are absolutely versatile.

There are many ways of growing potatoes - from standard to the most exotic. We bring to your attention articles about Dutch technology, how to grow potatoes from seed, under straw, in bags and barrels, in boxes or boxes without a bottom.

We also bring to your attention other varieties of potatoes with different ripening periods:

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