Thanks to German breeders, Laura potatoes appeared as an alternative to the Scarlet variety. High yield and resistance to harsh climatic conditions have helped Laura to become the leader in European production.

Characteristics of Laura potatoes

Laura potatoes are a mid-early red-skinned variety for table use. Description of the variety:

  • red, dark shade of smooth peel with medium-sized superficial eyes;
  • the pulp is dense, rich yellow;
  • tubers have a regular oval shape;
  • the mass of tubers is from 90 to 140 g;
  • tubers length - from 7 cm or more.

Tall, upright bushes are rather spreading and covered with dark green foliage with a wrinkled structure. Medium-sized leaves without pubescence are located in between, which is typical for this vegetable. There are a lot of inflorescences. Corollas of flowers are distinguished by a white and pale purple hue.

Laura potatoes

Note! The value of potatoes is determined by the amount of starch. The Laura potato variety has a yellow pulp, which indicates a high starch content, which reaches 16.5%.

The yield of potatoes is high, the maximum result depends on the timeliness of planting and weather conditions. One bush gives up to 20 tubers, 1 ha - about 330 centners.

Exposure to sunlight causes green spots on potatoes, signaling the presence of poisonous solanine and unsuitable for food. The same applies to sprouted tubers.

Taste characteristics

Laura potatoes are a table variety (culinary type "B"). A distinctive feature of the variety is its excellent taste, aroma, and preservation of the color of the pulp during heat treatment. Storage, transportation, heat treatment do not affect the taste of the vegetable. The excellent nutritional properties of potatoes make them a welcome guest on the table.

Note! The excellent taste of potatoes is complemented by healthy substances: a high content of phosphorus, potassium, vitamins of group B, C and other useful substances. A large amount of starch has an antiviral effect. Potato juice from the pulp and rind helps to normalize high blood pressure and lower blood sugar. Due to their high degree of starchiness, Laura potatoes are ideal for making mashed potatoes or French fries. It can also be fried, baked, boiled.

French fries Laura

Features of agricultural technology

Laura variety withstands different climatic conditions. The variety can grow well on any soil, loam and sandy loam, but gives the greatest yield in areas with black soil. The worst conditions for growth are dry regions and excessively dry soil.

Training

Potatoes Kumach

The preparation of seed potatoes consists in the elimination of low-quality tubers. For a week or 10 days, vernalization is carried out - the germination of tubers in the light. After the emergence of sprouts, disinfection is carried out using agents containing zinc, copper, molybdenum, boron and manganese, as well as treatment with insectofungicidal preparations. It is recommended to buy Prestige. For spraying one centner of seed material, a solution of 6 liters of water and 100 ml of the drug is enough.

However, you should refrain from using insectofungicides if you plan to eat young potatoes. You can fill the holes with ash and finely chopped onion skins.At the last stage of preparation, seed tubers are saturated with substances useful for development by means of solutions of gibberellin, sodium humate, heteroauxin.

The soil must first be prepared by introducing mineral and bacterial additives:

  • granular superphosphate;
  • humated urea;
  • nitrophoska;
  • nitrogen-bacterial fertilizer Ekofit;
  • phosphorus-bacterial Bactophosphine.

Landing

Important! Planting potatoes should be timed to mid or late May. At this time, the soil is already sufficiently warmed up, that is, its temperature has reached + 7-10 degrees at a depth of 9-10 cm. To obtain the maximum yield, do not rush to planting. You should be wary of the neighborhood of potatoes with tomatoes, as they have similar diseases and pests.

Planting potatoes in the ground

You can plant varietal potatoes in the ground using a smooth or ridge method. The soil must be thoroughly dug up, cleared of weeds. If the soil is not fertile, it is worth fertilizing it with manure and humus. The potato row should contain from 5 to 6 pieces of potatoes per linear meter. Since the variety gives a lot of tubers, the distance between the bushes should be slightly increased, leaving at least 20 cm.

At the last stage of the planting procedure, the ground must be leveled with a rake. During the flowering period, it is recommended to remove the flowers so that the tubers receive more nutrients. Potatoes emerge quite intensively, quickly give tubers, and then are in a calm state. The ripening period is 70 to 80 days. But you can eat potatoes a little earlier than the specified date. It is enough to determine that the skin is easily separated from the pulp.

Care

Alena potatoes

Proper care is very important for Laura potatoes:

  1. After the emergence of seedlings up to 8-10 cm in size, the planting area is processed by the method of continuous harrowing. The entire growing season must be loosened and cleaned of weeds;
  2. Enhancing the growth of tops just prior to flowering requires a lot of nitrogen. After the beginning of flowering, the need for nitrogen gradually decreases;
  3. Potatoes are not too picky about the quality of the soil and the presence of moisture, but they require abundant watering during dry periods;
  4. The main feature of the Laura potato variety is the need for a sufficient amount of potassium in the soil. Deficiency of this substance leads to a slowdown in plant development. To increase yields, improve the quality of tubers, and increase the amount of starch, it is recommended to use potassium magnesium;
  5. To cope with late blight, you need to treat the planting with drugs: "Ditan M-45", "Kuproksat", "Pilon". Kinmix or wood ash powder helps to defeat the Colorado potato beetle.

Important! To get a high yield, you need to pay attention to weeding, loosening, hilling and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.

You can reduce the burden of planting care by growing potatoes under straw mats. This allows you to do without the procedure of loosening and hilling.

Potatoes under a straw mat

Positive and negative properties

The characteristic of the Laura variety contains more positive properties than disadvantages. Advantages:

  • large, beautiful tubers;
  • high yield;
  • excellent taste;
  • medium early maturity;
  • resistance to many diseases, pests and weather conditions;
  • long shelf life.
Nandina potatoes

Despite the fact that Laura potatoes are an early variety, they have a long shelf life. It is necessary to observe a temperature regime of 1-3 degrees and store the vegetable in the dark, with sufficient ventilation. This way you can save up to 90% of the tubers throughout the year.

Note! The variety is resistant to such common diseases and pests of potatoes as virus Y, nematode, scab, leaf curling, as well as late blight (tubers and shoots). But it is recommended to use microbiological preparations against the bear, the Colorado potato beetle, the wireworm.

Negative qualities of the Laura variety:

  • the need for a large amount of potassium;
  • vulnerability to mechanical damage, due to which foci of diseases arise;
  • negative reaction to the herbicide Metribuzin.

The herbicide Metribuzin is used to remove weeds from a large area, but the Laura variety is very sensitive to this drug. It is necessary to cultivate the site only at the earliest stages of potato development, when the planting is under a layer of soil.

Laura potatoes have a high yield, have excellent taste and external characteristics, which allows them to be grown for sale.