When and how to properly collect potato seeds from berries

Collecting potato seeds from berries is a troublesome and complicated procedure. If you collect, store and prepare seeds for planting according to all the rules, you will be able to get a larger potato harvest that will not be susceptible to diseases and pest attacks.

Potato varieties for seed propagation

After flowering, all potato bushes are covered with berries, from which the seeds are collected.

Certain varieties produce a larger number of fruits, and their seeds have increased germination:

1. Farmer. Potatoes with thin light skin, the flesh does not disintegrate during cooking. The harvest is harvested 65 days after planting. Each bush bears fruit with 10–15 potatoes weighing about 100 g. Resistant to viral diseases.
   

   Farmer
2. Assol. Oval tubers with smooth light skin. The pulp is dense, light yellow. New potatoes are dug up in mid-July, and the entire crop is harvested in August. The variety is resistant to diseases and sudden temperature changes. The weight of each tuber is from 100 g and above. More than 3 kg of crop is harvested from the bush.
3. Empress. Small bushes with large elongated tubers. The pulp is yellowish, the taste is high. The weight of vegetables is from 60 to 140 g; 3.3 kg of potatoes are usually harvested from a bush. The first harvest is dug in July, harvesting is completed at the end of August. The plant is resistant to fungal diseases and is practically not affected by nematodes.
4. Triumph. Small oval tubers.It is characterized by increased productivity: each bush bears fruit of at least 30 potatoes. The creamy flesh is good - great for soups and baking. The culture has increased immunity to viral and fungal diseases.
5. Ilona. Full ripening occurs in August. New potatoes begin to be dug up in July. The tubers are large, elongated, beige in color. The pulp is crumbly white. High yield, resistance to diseases and pests, good germination in various climatic conditions.
6. Velina. Oval tubers of medium size, pale yellow color, dense foliage. Potatoes sprout quickly and are harvested in August. Vegetables are suitable for preparing various dishes. Each bush produces 500–700 g of tubers. There is immunity to fungi and viruses.
7. Revenge. Large oval-shaped tubers weighing 120 g. One bush produces up to 3 kg of yield. Smooth yellow peel, creamy flesh that does not darken during heat treatment. Resistant not only to common diseases, but also to pests.
8. Lada. Produces round tubers that keep well all winter. The peel is reddish, the pulp is starchy light yellow. One tuber weighs up to 150 g. The variety has increased resistance to common diseases.
9. Beauty. Mid-season high-yielding variety. Large red tubers weigh up to 300 g each. The yellow flesh does not crumble when cooked. The plant is resistant to fungal diseases and temperature changes.
   

   Beauty
10. Virgo. Large elongated tubers weighing up to 200 g, light red peel. The pulp is yellow, boiled. There is immunity to infections and pests.

Benefits of seed planting

Growing a crop from seeds has a number of advantages over classical propagation by tubers:

• there are no diseases that occur in tubers;
• buying seeds is cheaper than buying potatoes for planting;
• the yield is 10–20% higher than that obtained from tubers;
• The shelf life of planting material is more than 5 years, it does not require much space;
• grown potatoes are more resistant to late blight and other diseases.

Potatoes grown from seeds are small in size in the first year, but are used for planting the following season.

How to get potato seeds at home

Purchasing in specialized stores is easier, but it will not guarantee good quality and high germination.

Self-harvesting requires additional effort, but allows you to obtain potatoes with increased yield and immunity to disease.

When to collect seeds

To obtain a large number of healthy seeds, berries are collected from the strongest bushes that have not been sick throughout the season.

Reference! To prevent loss of berries, the top of the bush is wrapped with vegetable netting. This will prevent falling and make collection easier.

The seeds are found in the berries left after the potato blooms. To prevent the fruits from falling off, they are harvested unripe in mid-July. For early ripening varieties, the harvest time begins in June. Their color at this time should be light green.

How to collect potato seeds from bulbs

The collected berries are carefully laid out in one layer or hung in a gauze bag in a bright and warm place. Leave for several weeks until fully ripe and softened.

Further actions:

1. Ripe berries are turned into porridge by crushing them. Add a small amount of water to the mixture. Leave in a warm place for 2-3 days for fermentation (bubbles and a sharp characteristic smell should appear).
2. The fermented pulp is poured with a large amount of water. Seeds that are suitable for planting will sink to the bottom. All defective material will rise to the surface.
3. Remove empty seeds from the surface.
4. To separate the seed material from the water, filter the entire mass through cheesecloth or a fine sieve.

Planting material is also extracted in a simpler way: fruits cut in half are ground on a sheet of paper and allowed to dry. After the pulp evaporates, only the seeds remain on the leaf. The disadvantage of this method is the lack of fermentation, which destroys the dense seed coat, which prevents the rapid germination of plants.

Features of the workpiece

After separating the seeds from the pulp, they are washed in clean water to remove any remaining fruit. To dry, the material is laid out on a thick, clean sheet of paper in a thin layer and left in a warm room without drafts.

Dried seeds are packaged in paper envelopes indicating the name of the potato variety and the date of collection. Seed material can be stored for up to 8 years, but the greatest germination is achieved by specimens no older than 2 years.

Storage and preparation for planting

Packaged seeds are stored in dry rooms at a temperature of +12...+18°C.

Advice! Store the material in a place inaccessible to rodents, as they will use some of the seeds for food and spoil some.

Before planting, it is better to prepare the seeds to awaken and harden them:

1. To awaken, they are filled with warm water and left for 48 hours in a warm room.
2. Remove from water and dry naturally to a powdery state.
3. To harden, wrap it in a damp cloth and leave it for 14 days. The fabric is regularly moistened, kept indoors during the day, and put in the refrigerator at night.

The appearance of sprouts is a sign that it is time to plant the seeds in the ground.

Conclusion

To grow potatoes from seeds, you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. However, independent collection and preparation of seed material for planting guarantees disease-resistant potatoes and a high yield with large tubers.