Mid-early potato variety "Santana" with large tubers

Santana table potatoes do not become soft during heat treatment and remain firm, so they are used for making chips and fries.

We have collected detailed information about Santana potatoes: a description of the crop with photos of tubers, the characteristics of this variety, the nuances of cultivation and storage, as well as several secrets that will help increase productivity. Read about all this below.

Description of the variety

The Santana potato was developed by German and Dutch breeders. In Russia it was added to the register in 2006.

In addition to starch (13.4-17.3%), Santana contains a balanced complex of amino acids, vitamins B, C, H and PP, folic acid, as well as useful minerals: potassium, calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper and manganese, iron, chlorine and sulfur, iodine, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, boron and vanadium, tin and titanium, silicon, cobalt, nickel and aluminum, phosphorus and sodium.

Santana is rich in fiber, but its difference is that in tubers the fiber is soft and does not irritate the walls of the digestive tract.

Santana potatoes are considered mid-season - its tubers can be harvested 80-95 days after planting.

Reference. The yield of Santana depends on planting and care conditions and reaches 419 c/ha. The average yield varies between 164-384 c/ha.

Plants are resistant to golden cyst nematode, viral diseases and cancer potatoes. But there is a high susceptibility to late blight tubers and tops when grown in field conditions.

Santana tubers are smooth, reach large sizes, have the shape of a long oval, are strewn with small superficial eyes and are covered with a smooth, light yellow skin. The pulp of potatoes of this variety is white-yellow. The plant is medium-sized, semi-erect, with large, dark green, wavy leaves. The flowers are red-violet in color.

The Santana variety is unpretentious and does not require special growing conditions. Areas for cultivating this potato: Northwestern, Central and Central Black Earth regions. The plant exhibits best productivity when planted in light, sandy soil.

Advantages and disadvantages

Santana potatoes are varieties that have a minimum of disadvantages:

• high susceptibility to late blight;
• poor tolerance to drought;
• instability to mechanical damage.

But this variety boasts a number of advantages:

• resistance to viruses, cancer and nematode;
• unpretentiousness;
• good keeping quality – up to 9 months;
• high productivity;
• excellent taste;
• up to 99% marketability;
• large smooth tubers.

Features of planting and growing

The Santana variety does not require special skills when planting and growing, but several rules should be followed:

1. It is better to plant seed material in areas where legumes, grain plants or perennial grasses previously grew.
2. 30 days before planting, the planting tubers are transferred to a warm place with good lighting. These conditions are favorable for seed germination. Tubers germinate best in boxes with damp sawdust.
3. The harvest will be richer if, after germination, the tubers are pickled and treated with growth activators.
4. A favorable time for planting seeds is the beginning of May.The soil at a depth of 10 cm should be heated to +8°C. If this temperature has not yet been reached, it is better to postpone planting potatoes.
5. When planting, maintain a distance between holes of 300-350 mm, and between rows - 600-700 mm.
6. If the soil is heavy, planting tubers are buried 80 mm. Plant in light soil to a depth of 100 mm.
7. To achieve high yields, a high furrow is formed.

Loosening

Be sure to carry out early loosening, but not deeper than 3 cm. This improves oxygen access to the tubers and helps get rid of small weeds.

They also loosen the soil after rains - moisture quickly evaporates through cracks in the crust, and this prevents loosening. Loosen the ground so as not to damage the sprouts and not pull the tubers to the surface.

Hilling and weeding

Hilling is one of the measures to prevent late blight of tubers. The first hilling is carried out on moist soil, when the tops have not yet grown above 12-15 cm.

The soil is raked up to the tops with a hoe or flat cutter, forming a small mound around the bush. The procedure protects the plant from possible frosts. The second hilling is carried out 1.5-2 weeks after the first to accelerate tuber formation.

As the weeds become overgrown, the rows are weeded.

Watering

Plants need the most water during tuberization. This period begins with the appearance of buds and flowering. At this time, in the absence of rain, additional watering is provided to maintain soil moisture at least 80-85%.

Feeding

They make three per season feeding:

1. During the growth of tops, if there is weak development of potato bushes - the leaves are pale, the stems are thin. The bushes are watered with a solution: 10 liters of water, 1 tsp. urea and 1 tbsp. l. "Effekton" fertilizers for vegetables. One bush requires 0.5 liters of ready-made solution.It is better to feed in damp soil - after rain or watering.
2. During the appearance of buds: 10 liters of water, 1 glass of wood ash and 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate. This solution activates flowering.
3. The purpose of the third feeding is to accelerate the formation of tubers. It is made during the flowering period of the bushes: 10 liters of water, 1 tbsp. l. "Effekton" and 1 tbsp. l. superphosphate. Use 0.5 liters of the prepared solution per bush.

The row spacing is mulched with mowed grass or straw.

Diseases and pests

The fact that plants are affected by late blight is indicated by a dark coating on the leaves. This is the main sign of the disease. Over time, a white coating appears on the back of the leaf blades. Most often, potatoes are affected by late blight in July, but cases of the disease are reported in May and June.

Fighting late blight:

1. To strengthen the immune system, infected potatoes are sprayed with Epin. This product is a biostimulant with an anti-stress effect. It is produced in the form of ampoules of 0.3 ml. 2 hours before treatment, one ampoule is diluted in 5 liters of water. While the solution is infused, the bushes are inspected and dried leaves and stems are removed. 100 ml of solution is used for each bush.
2. An effective remedy against late blight is the drug “HOM”. The product is used strictly after flowering. While processing the bushes, protect the skin and mucous membranes from contact with the drug by wearing gloves, respirators, masks, and goggles. The working solution is prepared as follows: 40 g of the product is dissolved in 10 liters of water, the liquid is mixed and another 2-4 liters of water are poured into it. The potato field is sprayed with this solution. 1 liter of working fluid is consumed per 10 m2.
3. Sometimes the fight against potato late blight is carried out using Trichopolum tablets. They treat plants before or after flowering.Dissolve 15-20 Trichopolum tablets in 10 liters of water and spray the potato bushes in sunny, dry weather.

To prevent late blight, plants are sprayed with products containing copper: “Idol”, “Metaxil”, “Ordan”, “Raek”, “Talent”.

To combat insect pests, the green part of plants is treated with industrial insecticides: “Borey”, “Borey Neo”, “Shar Pei”, “Sirocco”, “Tanrek”.

Difficulties in growing

The Santana variety is considered easy to care for, but difficulties may arise when grown during drought or late blight epidemics. Potatoes will require abundant and frequent watering and the use of special products: “Idol”, “Metaxil”, “Ordan”, “Raek”, “Talent”.

Harvest and storage

Harvest as soon as the tops turn yellow and fall to the ground. A week before harvesting potatoes, the green part of the plants is mowed down. It is better to harvest on a sunny, warm day - this way the tubers will dry out faster.

Before harvesting for storage, potatoes are air dried, but not left in the sun for more than a few hours, otherwise they will begin to turn green.

Attention! Rotten, damaged or green tubers are not suitable for long-term storage - they need to be sorted.

In the room where tubers are planned to be stored, favorable conditions are created: ventilation, temperature +2...+4°C and humidity 80%. At low temperatures the vegetable will freeze and become sweet, and at high temperatures it will germinate.

Tubers of the Santana variety are able to retain their taste and nutritional value for 6-9 months.

There are a number of potato diseases that can affect the vegetable during storage - ring rot, dry rot, scab, wet rot.

To avoid mass damage, tubers are regularly inspected and those that show signs of disease are thrown away.

Tips and reviews from experienced gardeners about the Santana variety

Experienced gardeners note the positive characteristics of the variety and the problems they encounter during cultivation.

Elena, Chelyabinsk: “I decided to plant potatoes with seeds in order to plant the elite next year. They say that the potatoes we plant for several years in a row degenerate. Therefore, once every 5-6 years it is worth planting potatoes with seeds. And then he won't Colorado beetle, neither late blight will be affected. I plant later than my neighbors. Be sure to put a little compost in the hole, then sprout the potatoes down and cover them with soil. My soil is clayey, very loose. Another plus of flagstone is pebbles. When it is hot during the day, they heat up, giving off coolness, and on a cold night, they give off heat. This year's potato harvest - we dug up 70 from 8 buckets. Well, we didn't collect small change, there were about two buckets left. But what’s not very good is that there is a problem with wireworms.”

Nelly, Torzhok: “The taste of Santana potatoes is excellent. All dishes with it have a pleasant taste, the tubers are even, without deep eyes. If I get late blight, Siyanie-2 helps me. I make a mash with it and soak the tubers for 1-2 hours before planting. When the potatoes hatch, I almost immediately mulch with cut grass. The main thing is that it is without seeds. Mulch is our salvation! The disadvantage of this variety is that for some reason some of the tubers in my cellar wither quickly.”.

Conclusion

If you follow the rules of care, sufficient fertilizing and soil moisture, Santana potatoes can produce a large harvest.Tubers are stored throughout the winter if favorable temperature conditions and humidity levels are created in the room.

If the main purpose of growing potatoes is for food (french fries, salads), the Santana variety will be the best choice.