- Authors: Douglas Harley, UK
- Name synonyms: La Strada
- Year of approval: 2019
- Appointment: dining room
- Tuber size: large
- Tuber weight, g: 102-179
- Peel color: light beige
- Color of the pulp: white
- Starch content,%: 13,2-15,9%
- Tuber shape: oval
La Strada potatoes are a joint promising creation of domestic and Scottish breeders. And although the variety is young, it has already been appreciated for its high immunity to various kinds of infections, excellent gastronomic properties, and high productivity.
Breeding history
La Strada is the result of the joint work of breeders of the domestic company "Doca - Genetic Technologies" and the Scottish breeding center CYGNET Potato Breeders, Ltd. The owner of the company and concurrently the author of some varieties is Douglas Harley. In 2016, he paid a business visit to the plantations of the Doka SCC to get acquainted with the results of field trials of his hybrids and the latest breeding achievements of the Russian company. At the same time, a program of joint scientific work was agreed upon. It was in this year that an application was submitted for admitting the culture of La Strada to cultivation in the Russian Federation, and in 2019 the culture was added to the State Register, and from this year its cultivation began on an industrial scale. In the course of variety testing, the samples were tested in the Lower Volga and Central regions.
Description of the variety
The new variety of seed potatoes La Strada belongs to the Superelita class and, as already noted, is the result of a successful joint Russian-Scottish selection. The variety can be called unique both in terms of properties and taste. The originators claim that his yield is simply unlimited.
One of the many amazing properties of La Strada is its heat resistance. Plants are not afraid of the highest temperatures, since they are able to set tubers in hot and dry weather.
Characteristics of the appearance of the bush and root crops
The bush of the described potato is semi-erect, low, but can stretch up to a medium-sized height. The foliage is large, intermediate type, the leaf plates have a color from light green to green tones. Flower corollas range from small to medium in size. Inside the flowers, either the anthocyanin coloration is completely absent, or it is rather weak.
Potato tubers have an oval shape, small eyes, their skin is light beige, the flesh is white. The weight of root crops is from 102 to 179 grams. They contain starch at a concentration of 13.2 to 15.9%.
Purpose and taste of tubers
The culture refers to food for dining purposes, it has been assigned an aircraft type. The taste is noted as excellent. Suitable for all kinds of culinary uses: cooking, frying, baking. The boiled tuber weighs from 100 to 180 grams.
Maturation
La Strada potatoes are mid-season varieties.
Yield
Average potato yields vary widely - from 211 to 497 c / ha, the maximum harvest was recorded at a record 677 c / ha, which partly corresponds to the originator's statement of unlimited yield.
Growing regions
The regions preferred for the cultivation of La Strada potatoes are the center of the country and the Lower Volga. But, of course, it is grown far beyond these limits.
Growing and care
Before planting La Strada potatoes, it must be germinated for 20-25 days.Tubers prepared for planting should be treated with "Epin", which stimulates growth, and also soaked in fungicide to prevent diseases. In central Russia, potatoes are planted when the soil temperature reaches + 10-12 degrees. As a rule, it is 2-3 May decade.
During the growing season, La Strada potatoes will need to be hilled at least 2 times. In this case, 1 procedure is carried out 20 days after the emergence of sprouts, 2 times - when the tops have grown by 21-25 cm. The work is performed with a pitchfork, a shovel, a hoe. On large fields of farms, it will be optimal to do hilling with the help of special tools: a hiller, a walk-behind tractor, a cultivator.
Watering the culture should be as needed:
- a couple of weeks after germination;
- at the beginning of flowering;
- at the stage of active tuberization.
Planting potatoes is one of the main spring activities traditional for Russian gardeners. There are many ways to plant this vegetable, allowing you to get a good harvest in different conditions and climates. Before planting, you need to carefully prepare the planting material, correctly determine the timing, competently prepare the soil.
Disease and pest resistance
La Strada has excellent immunity. Differs in resistance to such ailments as potato cancer, wrinkled and banded mosaic. However, the culture is susceptible to the golden potato cyst nematode.
Potatoes are a popular vegetable crop that many gardeners planted on their site. But growing a bountiful harvest of tasty and large tubers is unlikely to succeed if the beds are not properly protected from the most common diseases and pests. Often, the development of diseases of various etiologies of potatoes goes unnoticed, so it is important to identify the problem in time and eliminate it.
