Nutritional advice for potatoes
Nitrogen: essential but to be applied with caution, as an excess can lead to excessive vegetative growth at the expense of tuber initiation (oppure tuber bulking). This delays maturity and produces lower-quality tubers with a reduced starch content.
Phosphorus: promotes root development. Applying a micro-granule during sowing is ideal to ensure rapid and uniform seedling emergence. It also remains crucial during the subsequent stages of tuber initiation and tuber bulking, in order to achieve abundant yields of uniform size.
The potato is considered a potassium-loving (potassophilic) plant par excellence, and the final quality largely depends on this element. Foliar application is recommended from post-emergence until harvest, using biostimulants and potassium-rich products to enhance potato quality and prevent deficiencies.
GRENA SUPER is an organic fertilizer derived from meat meal. Due to its nature, it naturally contains L-amino acids (levorotatory amino acids) and a significant amount of meso-elements, including Calcium (15%) and various micro-elements. This product is ideal for basal fertilization, particularly for leafy vegetables or taproot crops, such as potatoes. GRENA SUPER features an NPK ratio of 3-2-1 along with the presence of calcium and magnesium. These components strengthen cellular structures, thereby ensuring a more consistent yield that is easily storable for industrial processing. They are essential for promoting photosynthesis, increasing the firmness of both pulp and skin, and enhancing resistance to handling. Furthermore, it is essential to prepare the soil for the next crop cycle by using an organic fertilizer before sowing, ensuring an optimal nutritional base.
It is recommended to apply IDROGRENA Universal via foliar spray during every pest control treatment, taking advantage of the properties of this polyamine-rich biostimulant, which acts as a carrier. In more specific stages, the use of IDRO CALCIO +2% CaO combined with IDRO MAG +2% MgO is recommended. These foliar fertilizers, containing polyamines and amino acids, work in synergy to promote the absorption of calcium and magnesium (both at 2%) during the most critical crop stages. Amino acids not only facilitate absorption but, together with polyamines, transport calcium, improving its accumulation. Applied together, especially during vegetative growth, they promote calcium accumulation in the younger parts, and during the tuber bulking stage, they help improve tuber firmness and quality.
Towards the end of the crop cycle, it is preferable to apply potassium via foliar spray using the product MATURA (7% K) to guarantee the organoleptic characteristics of the tuber, during a critical phase when potassium absorption is generally limited by high temperatures.
DOSAGES:
GRENA SUPER: 1000 – 1100 kg/ha.
IDROGRENA Universal: 10 kg/ha combined with foliar pest control products.
IDROCALCIO Grena +2% Ca and IDRO MAG +2% MgO: used in combination during both the vegetative growth and tuber bulking stages, with 2 applications every 7 days at 100 cl per 100 L of H2O for each product.
MATURA: 40 days before harvest, applied at 300 cl per 100 L of H2O for 3 foliar applications.
*The above dosages are indicative. For proper product use, please consult a Technical Advisor.
