Every spring, summer residents have a difficult choice: what kind of potato to plant so that it is resistant to disease, tastes good and quickly ripened. Rocco potato has advantages over other varieties in almost all parameters.
Dutch Rocco potatoes are popular not only abroad, where they were first grown, but also in Russia. It gained its popularity due to its excellent taste, ease of cultivation, as well as relative usefulness.
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Description and characteristics of Rocco potatoes
The characteristics of the Rocco potato variety appeal to many seasoned gardeners. When talking about this variety its high productivity is always noted. Outwardly confusing Rocco with other varieties is difficult. Potato has a thin red-pink peel and a smooth surface, at first glance, it looks like a ripe red apple. The height of the bushes is average. When ripe potatoes are cut, the flesh should be cream-colored. To better understand the external description of the Rocco potato variety, refer to the photo below.
Rocco potato: properties and productivity
As already mentioned in the description of the variety, Rocco potatoes are distinguished by a large number of tubers on each bush, the number of which averages 12 pieces. Their weight is also relatively large - up to 125 g. You can dig out the fruit 100 days after planting.
Compared to other varieties, Rocco is very dietary - the starch content in potatoes does not exceed 14%, while the no less common vector potato contains 19% starch.
Advantages and disadvantages of Rocco potatoes
Most vegetable crops have their advantages and disadvantages, which can not be said about the Rocco variety. After reading the reviews under the characteristics of Rocco potatoes, you can be sure that the variety has no drawbacks at all, according to summer residents. But he has a lot of advantages:
- aesthetic appearance of the fruit;
- high resistance to common diseases and viruses;
- not pickiness to the ground;
- ability to tolerate sudden changes in weather, drought;
- high yield and size of fruits;
- good taste.
The rules for growing varieties
Although the Rocco potato variety is unpretentious to the growing conditions, there are still some indications for its planting. Firstly, potatoes must be planted on time. In the central regions of Russia, this must be done in the second half of March or in early April, depending on the natural conditions of certain regions. In the northern regions, where winters are long and cold, it is worth planting potatoes when the soil temperature is stable above zero.
As mentioned earlier, this variety is relatively not whimsical, including when choosing soil. The main requirement is that the soil should be flat, without weeds. Open land plots are ideal for planting potatoes, where sunlight can easily get in. It is advisable to use neutral soils.
Immediately before planting, carefully inspect the tubers. Rocco is resistant to many diseases, but some of them can overcome potatoes due to poor-quality diseased tubers. Therefore, purchase seed at proven locations. To be sure that the tubers do not have any infections, treat them with Epin. And also a few days before planting, take out the potatoes in the sun so that it warms up.
On the day of planting, dig holes for sowing potatoes. Do not dig holes too close, as this variety of potatoes tends to grow very much. Before planting tubers, it would be nice to fertilize the soil by putting some wood ash on the bottom of the holes. And also this type of fertilizer can be used during the autumn digging of the earth and for feeding plants.
Rocco Potato Care Rules
Characteristics of Rocco potatoes allow you to grow a good harvest, even with simple care, so this variety is perfect for beginner summer residents. But you still have to work a little.
- Potato beds should be carefully weeded regularly. At the first stages, this is done carefully so as not to damage the small shoots.
- In the description of the Rocco potato variety, it was already said that it is resistant to drought, so it is necessary to water it as the earth dries.
- To better penetrate the air to the potato, it is necessary to loosen the beds with a certain frequency.
- Throughout the growth of potatoes, it must be fed. This can be done previously described wood ash.
- To protect the tubers from diseases, you can spray the plants with special chemicals and insecticides in accordance with the instructions.
- It is important to get rid of pests that appeared on the beds in time. We will talk about this in more detail in the next paragraph.
- You can dig out potatoes only after its leaves have completely turned yellow.
Diseases and pests and methods of dealing with them
The main disease, before which the Rocco variety is poorly resistant, is late blight of the leaves. The ideal environment for the development of this disease are places whose humidity reaches 90% at a temperature of 15 degrees. The disease manifests itself in the appearance of dark spots on the leaves of potatoes. If in time you do not start the fight against late blight, he will quickly switch to the stem of the plant. You can get rid of this disease only with the help of the chemical Fungicide Gold. It should be used according to the instructions.
Rocco pests include the Colorado potato beetle and wireworm. They successfully attack almost all varieties of potatoes. Distinguishing them from other harmless insects is quite easy: the wireworm has an orange body and a black head, and the Colorado potato beetle has white stripes on its back.
To prevent the appearance of wireworms, it is possible to treat the landing wells with a solution of potassium permanganate. If wireworms nevertheless appeared in your summer cottage, use the Bazudin insecticide or make a homemade trap from pieces of potatoes. Poke small pieces of potato with a toothpick and dig 10 cm into the ground. After a week, remove the toothpicks and remove the wireworm larvae.
The Colorado potato beetle is also relatively easy to fight. It is worth noting that the danger to agriculture is not so much the beetles themselves, but their orange larvae, which insects lay on the bottom of the leaf. There are 2 effective ways to deal with larvae and adult bugs: you can collect them from the leaves of the plant manually or use the Karado insecticide.
Resistance to disease
So, late blight of the leaves, the appearance of Colorado potato beetles or wireworms are the main ailments that can happen with Rocco potatoes.This proves that Rocco is resistant to many diseases, including potato cancer. Y viruses and the potato nematode also fail to spoil the Rocco potato crop. Another advantage of this variety is its high resistance to twisting of leaves.
Reviews
User reviews of Rocco potatoes confirm the description of the variety, namely its visual beauty. Due to the aesthetic appearance, the Rocco variety is often grown for trade. And also in their reviews, gardeners growing potatoes of this variety constantly mention its amazing taste. Do not deprive attention and good preservation of tubers after digging. Rocco can lie all winter and not lose its taste.
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