Red Scarlet Potatoes

The Red Scarlett potato variety is one of the most popular varieties created by Dutch breeders. Bright skin color and tasty yellow pulp, fast ripening are just a small part of its advantages. Russian summer residents appreciate this potato for its ease of care, abundant harvests and strong immunity against most common diseases.

The variety was obtained by farmers from the Netherlands. Registered by HZPC Holland In Russia, approved for use in 2000.

Red Scarlet belongs to table potato varieties with high marketability of fruits. This figure reaches 82-96%. The keeping quality of the fruits is high, they are adapted for long-term storage.

The characteristic features of the variety include the average thickness of the stems, their high growth rate, and a set of deciduous mass. Potatoes are responsive to good care, but depend on weather factors. It grows best in sunny, well-lit areas. The variety is highly valued by farmers and has a high commercial value.

Bushes are low, intermediate type, semi-erect. 7-8 stems are formed on each. The tops and shoots are colored dark green. The height of the bush reaches 60-70 cm. The leaves are green, with a slightly wavy edge, medium-sized, the flowers are painted in a red-violet hue.

On each bush, 20-23 large tubers weighing 56-102 g are formed. The shape is elongated-oval, the skin is smooth, colored red, the flesh is yellow. The eyes are slightly deepened. When sprouts are torn off, their re-emergence is rare.

Red Scarlet potatoes are classified as culinary type AB. It is suitable for making salads and soups, frying, poorly boiled. The pulp does not darken on the cut, the taste of the fruit is assessed as satisfactory. Red Scarlet is especially good for the production of chips, deep-fried potatoes.

Red Scarlet is an early variety, from germination to harvest takes an average of 70-80 days.

Red Scarlet has an average yield of 164-192 kg / ha. The maximum recorded yield is 270 c / ha. Up to 19 kg of potatoes are harvested from 1 m2 of plot. You can rush to collect the tubers if you plan to eat the tubers during the warm season. For long-term storage, you should wait until their skin becomes thicker and denser.

The variety is zoned for cultivation in most regions of the Russian Federation. The climate of the central regions, the Middle and Lower Volga, the Central Black Region, Western Siberia and the north-west suits him. In the Kuban, it is possible to harvest up to 2 crops per season due to the early maturation of potatoes.

Planting of Red Scarlet tubers is carried out in the spring, in the south from mid-March, in the northern regions towards the end of May. It is important that the soil warms up well, the period of morning frosts passes. The tubers are pre-germinated and sorted. The optimal planting pattern is 30x70 cm.

Previously, it will be useful to add superphosphate, wood ash to the wells. High ridges form on top of the planted potatoes. On loose soils, they are made especially large, otherwise, after rain, the soil will settle on the surface. In the future, the bushes also actively huddle, stimulating the formation of lateral ovaries on the roots.

Potatoes of this variety are responsive to additional application of manganese, magnesium on the leaf after hilling. With the emergence of seedlings, you can fertilize the plants with mullein in the form of a liquid solution or urea.

Weeding is only required early in the cultivation stage. In later growing seasons, the bushes will cope with this problem on their own. Watering is required only during bud formation and flowering. With prolonged drought, moistening is carried out every 14 days.

Plants are not overly sensitive to growing conditions. But the best yield can be achieved on peat soils and chernozem with moderate air humidity.

Red Scarlet is drought tolerant. Grows best in moderate humidity conditions.

Of the most common potato diseases, Red Scarlet is susceptible only to late blight of leaves and tubers, common scab. Viruses, potato crayfish, golden nematode are practically not affected. Plants are poorly protected from Alternaria, moreover, black spot is often a precursor of late blight.

The tops are actively destroyed by the Colorado potato beetle. At the stage of crop ripening, it is worth taking care of the prevention of the appearance of this pest, paying attention to the collection of insects by hand. A wireworm may appear on the underground part of the bush. The fight against him is carried out with the help of chemicals.

According to summer residents, the Red Scarlet variety deserves the most laudatory reviews.Due to early ripening, it demonstrates excellent resistance to late blight, it grows well even without additional fertilizing on fertile soils. Especially many positive aspects are found by amateur vegetable growers in potatoes at the time of harvest. Large beautiful tubers are one-dimensional, beautifully colored, there are a lot of them on each bush. The skin is easy to peel, the pulp is easy to rub for culinary purposes, suitable for lump-free purees and thick soups.

This potato has few downsides. It is noted that it is prone to drooping stems, but this phenomenon does not affect the overall yield. In high humidity, tubers sent for storage may become covered with a white coating. There are also negative opinions about the taste of potatoes. Not everyone likes its starchiness, dryness and neutrality.

Summer residents do not recommend planting this variety by dividing the tuber. In this case, seedlings appear unevenly. And also Red Scarlet needs to keep the soil loose. When the soil is compacted, air and moisture pass worse, the yield drops, the tubers become smaller.