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As you know, potatoes with early ripening have two major drawbacks: mediocre taste and poor keeping quality. Usually, early potato varieties farmers and summer residents grow in small quantities, just to feast on tender young potatoes. Lady Claire is a medium early variety, but this potato is considered one of the tastiest and has a long shelf life. The Dutch hybrid also owes its popularity to its high yield, excellent marketability, relative unpretentiousness and durability. The variety, indeed, deserves the closest attention of gardeners.
Full characteristics of Lady Claire potatoes, reviews and photos of bushes and tubers - all information is collected in this article. Here the advantages and disadvantages of the Dutch hybrid will be listed, it will be told about where it is best to grow it and what to pay special attention to.
Description of the hybrid
Lady Claire's potatoes were bred by breeders from the Netherlands. The original name of the hybrid is Lady Claire. The variety is recommended for cultivation on an industrial scale and in private households. Lady Claire is included in the State Register of Agricultural Crops; this potato is proposed to be grown in the Central and North Caucasian regions.
Full description of the Lady Claire potato variety:
- the ripening period is early - the growing season is 65-70 days (you can dig in the first root crops 1.5 months after the germination of the bushes);
- medium-sized bushes - up to 50 cm in height;
- erect shoots, well leafy;
- stems are powerful, not prone to lodging;
- leaves are wrinkled, large, emerald green, with wavy edges;
- corollas are compact, flowers are white, berries are not formed in their place;
- the root system is powerful, under one bush, on average, 10-12 tubers are formed;
- there are very few small and deformed potatoes - Lady Claire has a very attractive and highly marketable appearance;
- the shape of the tubers is oval, leveled;
- potatoes weigh from 80 to 120 grams;
- Lady Claire's rind is light yellow, rather dense, but thin;
- the pulp is yellowish-white, also of high density;
- there are few eyes on potatoes, they are small and shallow (Lady Claire's variety is suitable for machine washing and cleaning);
- the taste characteristics of potatoes are high - 4 out of 5 points;
- Lady Claire's tubers contain a lot of starch (about 15%), carotene and vitamin C;
- taste at Dutch potatoes pleasant, but not very rich (like all early varieties);
- potatoes cannot be called watery, tubers have a high dry matter content (at the level of 21%), Lady Claire's digestibility is average;
- almost any soil is suitable for growing these potatoes, but the variety demonstrates the best yield on fertile black earth or sandy soils (Lady Claire bears fruit worst of all on heavy clay soils);
- the yield of Dutch potatoes is high - at the level of 140-180 centners per hectare (with proper agricultural technology, an increase in indicators up to 270 centners / ha is possible);
- the keeping quality of potatoes is excellent, which is unusual for early varieties - at the level of 94% (tubers can be stored in basements for up to six months);
- during storage, the taste of Lady Claire tubers does not deteriorate and their appearance practically does not suffer;
- thanks to the dense pulp and strong skin, the potato tolerates transportation well, is not afraid of blows and other mechanical influences;
- the variety is very resistant to a number of dangerous "potato" diseases;
- Lady Claire tolerates drought relatively well, does not require frequent watering.
Pros and cons of Dutch potatoes
Reviews of domestic gardeners about Lady Claire's Dutch potatoes are mostly positive. In Russia, this potato is loved for the following qualities:
- excellent yield, sufficient for industrial cultivation;
- resistance to major diseases of the culture;
- low susceptibility to pests;
- good taste;
- the possibility of long-term storage;
- unpretentiousness in planting and care;
- the universal purpose of potatoes;
- presentation of tubers;
- resistance to drought and high temperatures;
- high nutritional value of potatoes;
- Lady Claire's suitability for transportation;
- early ripening.
Another big advantage of the Lady Claire variety is that the potatoes do not degenerate for a long time: for many years you can plant these potatoes in one area and get decent yields from year to year.
There are no major flaws in the Lady Claire variety. Some farmers complain about shrinking tubers and excessive hardness of potatoes. As practice shows, this happens due to insufficient moisture: although the Dutch potato tolerates drought normally, but only on condition that it is short-lived. Therefore, you still have to water the area with potatoes.
Diseases and pests
The Lady Claire potato variety has good immunity to most diseases and is practically not afraid of pests - this potato is one of the most persistent.
According to the findings of the researchers and reviews of gardeners, Lady Claire is highly resistant to a number of diseases:
- golden cyst nematode;
- potato cancer;
- blackleg;
- potato rhizoctonia;
- common scab;
- top gray rot;
- tuber rot.
In order to prevent the development of late blight, which is one of the most dangerous diseases of nightshade crops, it is necessary to constantly monitor the degree of soil moisture. Lady Claire's potato variety will handle drought better than excessive moisture!
Potatoes have a fairly dense skin, so Lady Claire's tubers are not afraid of wireworms, slugs, bear and Colorado beetles. But potato bushes must be protected from pests, for this they are treated with insecticides a couple of times.
In order not to create a favorable environment for the appearance and reproduction of infection and pests, you need to monitor the plantings. Lady Claire's potato spacings are regularly weeded to remove weeds and loosening the earth. To make his work easier, the gardener can use mulch: mowed grass, hay, sawdust will prevent excessive evaporation of moisture and protect against the germination of weeds.
Agrotechnical techniques
There is nothing difficult about growing Dutch potatoes. You can plant the Lady Claire potato variety both in open ground and in a greenhouse (relevant for the northern regions). Any soil is suitable, the main thing is that it is loose and nutritious, does not contribute to the retention of moisture.
The potato planting technology is offered as follows:
- A couple of weeks before planting, potato tubers should be brought to a warm place for germination. You can also sprout Lady Claire's potatoes in the sand or outdoors.
- Immediately before planting, potatoes are recommended to be treated with special chemical compounds or potassium permanganate solution. This will protect the tubers from pests.
- The soil on the site must be loosened in advance, weeds and their roots must be selected, fertilizers (peat, wood ash, humus) scattered.
- The planting scheme for the Lady Claire variety is recommended as follows: 35x60 cm.The depth of the holes should not be more than ten centimeters, since in this case the tubers can rot before germination.
Care rules
Lady Claire's potatoes are not capricious, so taking care of her is simple:
- hilling sprouted bushes, forming high ridges around them (as in the photo below);
- water during periods of prolonged drought, avoiding waterlogging of the soil;
- fertilize the bushes once with mineral compounds based on potassium and phosphorus (it is better to do this before the flowering of Lady Claire's potatoes);
- you can carry out foliar processing of potatoes with superphosphate dissolved in water (this must be done a couple of weeks before harvesting);
- treat potato bushes with insecticides, monitor plant health;
- weed the aisles regularly or use organic mulch.
Dug out potatoes must be dried. To do this, the tubers are laid out on the border of the plot or under a canopy. After a while, the potatoes must be sorted and removed for storage.
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Conclusion
Lady Claire's potato variety can be safely called universal. This potato is suitable for growing in open ground and in greenhouses, it can be eaten in its original form or processed, most importantly, the crop is suitable for storage, although often mouth-watering tubers are eaten while still young.
Lady Claire rarely gets sick, gives bountiful harvests, and also - she does not degenerate, so for several years farmers can grow potatoes from their own seeds.
