Do I need to pick flowers from potatoes?
Do I need to pick flowers from potatoes to increase the yield? Opinions of agronomists and gardeners on this issue differ. Some argue that in their experience they were convinced of the benefits of the procedure, others claim its inefficiency. To understand the question, you must first weigh the pros and cons of this action in the cultivation of potatoes.
The principle of the influence of the procedure on the harvest
Half of all the nutrients during the development of the potato bush comes to the tubers. The rest goes to the foliage, stems, inflorescences and berries. So nature has disposed, it means that this is the right process, which has been developed by it for thousands of years.
But it can be assumed that by removing the flowers (or even the stems, as some summer residents do), all the nutrients can be sent to the potatoes themselves. This is not entirely true, and the scientists' experiments prove this.
Having landed 2 rows of potatoes of the same species, the agronomists at the first row cut off the flowers. The second was left as is. The result was the following: the 1st row gave some fruits, but they were large and the same. In the second row many small potatoes were dug, suitable only for planting next year.
Depending on the climate and the variety of planting material, the results often did not coincide, and bushes with plucked inflorescences yielded more fruit, and they were of high quality.
In this regard, to say that the flowers definitely can not be cut off, it is not necessary. It is best for a gardener to conduct an experiment on his personal plot with a certain potato variety himself. To do this, on several bushes to disrupt the inflorescences and see what the result will be.
Advantages and disadvantages
To the negative points we assign the chopping of tubers, and the injury of the stems, which can badly affect the yield and lead to diseases like phytophtoras.
The advantages are in obtaining material for planting, and potato inflorescences, which are suitable for some medicinal fees and feeding bushes.
In conclusion: there are no particular advantages in cutting off potato color by most gardeners. But, with a part of the bushes you can try in terms of the experiment.
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