Horticultural News January - February issue
Horticultural News January - February issue
Horticultural News January - February issue
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!<br />
Plant potatoes in a site<br />
where tomatoes or<br />
other crops belonging<br />
to the same family<br />
as potatoes have not<br />
been planted during the previous<br />
two seasons. This helps to reduce<br />
the spread of soil borne diseases<br />
and pests.<br />
Land preparation<br />
Prepare the land well and early<br />
enough before the start of the<br />
rains. Make furrows in straight<br />
lines, 8-10 cm deep.<br />
Fertilizers and manure<br />
Farmers should perform a soil test<br />
regularly so as to get an indication<br />
of how much fertilizer and manure<br />
to use. a general recommendation,<br />
which depends on the fertility of<br />
the land, is to apply Diammonium<br />
phosphate (DaP) fertilizer at the<br />
rate of 200 kg/acre. The fertilizer<br />
should be mixed with the soil after<br />
application to avoid contact with the<br />
seed which can lead to ‘burning’ of<br />
the sprouts. Only well decomposed<br />
manure should be used so as to<br />
avoid the spread of a disease called<br />
rhizoctonia. The application rate is<br />
2-4 tonnes/acre.<br />
30<br />
Growing potatoes successfully<br />
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is variously referred to as Irish potato, English potato or round potato.<br />
Other names are viazi or viazi mviringo in Kiswahili. It is an important staple food in Kenya. Table or<br />
ware potatoes refer to potatoes that are grown for consumption as opposed to seed potatoes. Such potatoes<br />
can be boiled, fried, baked, mashed or made into chips or crisps. They can also be eaten in salads,<br />
stews or in mixed foods such as bananas, beans, maize and rice. There many potato recipes available.<br />
By LUNG’AHO C, NyONGESA M, KARINGA J<br />
and KINyAE, P M<br />
Choice of varieties<br />
a large number of potato<br />
varieties are grown in Kenya. The<br />
varieties differ in time of maturity,<br />
yield, appearance, cooking and<br />
marketing qualities and resistance<br />
to various diseases and pests as<br />
well as growth habit and tolerance<br />
to moisture stress. Growers are<br />
therefore advised to choose the<br />
correct variety for their intended<br />
use and growing conditions. a list<br />
of some of the varieties is shown in<br />
the following table.<br />
Key: Maturity period: Early (less<br />
than 90 days), Medium early (91-100<br />
days), Medium late (101-110), Medium<br />
late (111-120 days), Late (121-130 days),<br />
Very late (More than 131 days)<br />
yields: Low (Less than 20t/ha),<br />
Medium (21-30 t/ha), High (31-40 t/<br />
ha) and very high (More than 40 t/ha)<br />
H O R T I C U LT U R A L N E W S I j a n u a r y - F E B r u a r y 2 0 1 2<br />
Characteristics of some of the commonly grown potato varieties<br />
Variety Skin Shape Maturity Yield Utilization<br />
Colour<br />
Period<br />
Boiling Chipping Chipping<br />
Asante Red Round Medium Very Fair Good Fair<br />
early high<br />
Red Oval Early Medium Good Good Good<br />
Red Round Medium<br />
late<br />
Medium Good Good Fair<br />
Red Round Late High Good Good Good<br />
Desiree<br />
Dutch<br />
Robijn<br />
Kenya<br />
Karibu<br />
Kenya<br />
Mavuno<br />
Kenya Mpya<br />
Kenya Sifa<br />
Kenya<br />
Sherehekea<br />
Purple Gold<br />
Tigoni<br />
White<br />
White<br />
Red<br />
White<br />
Purple<br />
White<br />
Round<br />
Oval<br />
Round<br />
Round<br />
Round<br />
Round<br />
Late<br />
Medium<br />
early<br />
Late<br />
Late<br />
Late<br />
Medium<br />
High<br />
High<br />
High<br />
Very high<br />
Medium<br />
Very high<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Fair<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good<br />
Good