The early varietal potatoes Karatop were created by German breeders. Their attempts to develop a unique variety were crowned with success. For many gardeners, it has become almost the standard of potato characteristics. In addition to a rich harvest, it exhibits excellent taste.

Characteristics of the variety

The characteristics of the Karatop potatoes indicate that the early ripening variety is versatile and suitable for cultivation in the middle lane.

Bush

Developing very quickly, the bush reaches medium size. Its type is referred to as slightly spreading. The dense tops have a rich color. Leaves are medium in size with a wavy, hard-to-see border.

Unlike the old familiar varieties, Karatop is rather modest in flowering, throwing out a small amount of white corollas.

Appearance

Tubers

Under a compact bush, a quarter of a hundred tubers develops, each about 80 g. Often, larger ones, reaching 130 grams, are also found. Their smooth skin with a pleasant light roughness attracts the eye. The tubers are almost round, with small eyes.

Under the yellowish skin there is a grainy pulp with a light creamy shade. With almost 15% starch in their composition, potatoes are ideal for preparing second courses. The puree turns out to be of a delicate consistency, it tastes like potato cream.

The flavor level of Karatop is extremely high, and although considered a table variety, businesses also often use it to make chips.

Important! The very rapid development has become one of the distinctive features of the Karatop variety.

Cultivation

Alena potatoes

The variety of soil does not bother potatoes. However, when planting in heavy ground, it requires increased attention. Karatop is cultivated in gardens and greenhouses. The heated greenhouse allows you to grow potatoes for personal use even in winter.

Harvesting

Seed selection

For a high-quality varietal harvest, you need to select the seed potatoes Karatop correctly:

  • Leave tubers in 60-80 g weight;
  • We need a careful examination for the fact of disease;
  • The tuber should have many eyes.

Germination

This process begins at the end of March.

The shallow box is lined with a thin layer of moist heated soil. The selected tubers are laid out with their eyes upwards and covered with the same soil. The order of placement is repeated until the container is completely filled, but no more than three layers.

The box is exposed to light; monitor the temperature, which should be within 16 ° C. Sorting should be done in a couple of weeks.

Growing in the garden

The tubers are carefully removed, the sprouted ones are selected, and the rest are returned to the box. Planting material must be handled carefully so as not to break off the sprouts.

Important! Moistening the tubers with a weak solution of vitriol will ensure fast and friendly germination.

Disembarkation

The agrotechnics of Karatop are simple. Potatoes are planted in warm soil. Planting methods are standard: holes or rows. The only difference is the distance between them. When forming, the tubers grow strongly and become crowded.

Important! Cold ground will almost halve the harvest.

Many gardeners, in order to fully fertilize the soil, begin this process in the fall, after harvesting. The necessary components are introduced in turn, with a large interval.

Important! Potatoes Karatop doesn't like dung. When cooking, the tubers will turn black.

Care for Karatop potatoes

This variety has a feature that alarms gardeners, and scares some.

Watering

Ramona potatoes

Karatop is afraid of drought. With a moisture deficit, the tubers stop development, ripen for a long time. As a result, the quality of the crop is low, the taste is lost, and the harvest is below normal.

At a minimum, the crop is watered weekly. If possible, watering is carried out every 3-4 days. Fertilizers are given to potatoes with water.

Top dressing

From the very beginning of the growing season to the blooming of flowers, Karatop needs a large amount of phosphorus. After the beginning of flowering, there is an increased need for potassium, which improves the yield.

Important! Chemicals applied as fertilizers can change the taste of Karatop potatoes. You only need to use organic substances.

Loosening

Protecting tubers from weeds, regular loosening of row spacings is carried out. The very first procedure is recommended to be carried out 5 days after disembarkation. Subsequent treatments are done, focusing on the state of the garden. During loosening, oxygen in sufficient quantity penetrates into the tubers.

Negative factors can significantly spoil the expected crop forecasts. So that the spring frosts do not destroy young sprouts, hilling is carried out, sprouts are sprinkled with peat crumbs.

If the frost affects the seedlings, they are fed with nitrogen fertilizers.

Harvest storage

For the safety of the harvest, they use basements, special pits, and cellars. They are prepared in advance: they are dried from dampness, they are whitewashed with lime from fungus and midges, or they are treated with a sulfur checker.

The storage of Karatop potatoes should be at a constant temperature of 2-4 ºС in a dark place. The culture is well preserved until the next harvest, thanks to its ultra-high keeping quality.

Improper storage

This variety of table potatoes is ideal for long-term bulk transportation. Mechanical damage to tubers is hardly noticeable.

Diseases

The fungal disease late blight is a threat for Karatop. Having a weak resistance to fungus, potatoes are covered with bloom and burgundy spots. The diseased culture dies quickly.

note... High resistance of the Karatop potato to nematode, glandular spot, potato crayfish.

Pests

A danger to potatoes is a wireworm. The tubers eaten by it give in to rotting, and the whole bush withers. As a prophylaxis, autumn digging is carried out with the introduction of ammonium sulfate.

Such a misfortune as the Colorado potato beetle is exterminated by the standard processing for all potatoes.

Pros and cons of the variety

Sineglazka potatoes

There are few shortcomings in the culture: a couple of pests, late blight, the need for watering. There are much more advantages:

  • Large root crops;
  • Generous harvest;
  • High taste indicators;
  • Fast development;
  • Resistant to damage;
  • Long-term storage.

The soil is of great importance in the choice of potatoes in a certain area. The Karatop variety is universal for this case. For example, potatoes are Korotok, with a scarce availability of sand in the soil, develops poorly, there is a loss of yield.

The description of the Corado potato variety is almost similar to the Karatop variety, only the Colorado beetles are not attracted to it, due to the increased rigidity of the green mass.

The Karatop variety has become a godsend for gardeners. With its relative unpretentiousness, it is extremely harvestable. Buying the initial seed is no problem.