AT A GLANCE
- Plant the main crop between about 10 October and 10 November.
- Use certified, sprouted seed tubers of 40–50 g; about 10–12 quintals per acre.
- Potato is a heavy feeder: apply potash generously, and Zinc & Micronutrient Mixture at planting.
- Irrigate lightly and often — never let water top the ridges.
- Cut haulms 10–15 days before digging for a firm skin and better storage.
Planting time, seed and spacing
Potato grows best in cool weather: tubers form when nights are around 15–20 °C. In Uttar Pradesh that means planting in October–November so tubers bulk in the cool months.
| Crop | Planting window | Typical varieties |
|---|---|---|
| Early crop | Late September – mid October | Early varieties (70–90 days), e.g. Kufri Pukhraj, Kufri Khyati, Kufri Ashoka |
| Main crop | About 10 October – 10 November | Medium varieties (90–110 days), e.g. Kufri Bahar, Kufri Mohan, Kufri Badshah |
| Late crop | Up to late November | Use early varieties; yields are lower |
- Seed: certified or healthy seed tubers of 40–50 g, with sprouts 1–2 cm long. Large tubers can be cut so each piece has at least two eyes; let cut pieces dry before planting.
- Seed rate: about 25–30 quintals per hectare (10–12 quintals per acre), depending on tuber size.
- Spacing: rows about 60 cm apart and tubers 20 cm apart in the row, planted on ridges.
- Bring seed out of cold storage 10–15 days before planting and keep it in shade to sprout.
Fertilizer and micronutrients
Potato removes large amounts of nitrogen and potash. Add 20–25 tonnes of well-rotted farmyard manure per hectare (8–10 tonnes per acre) during field preparation where available, then use the figures below — adjusted to your soil test.
| Nutrient | Per hectare | Per acre | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 180 kg | About 72 kg | Half at planting, half at earthing up (25–30 days) |
| Phosphorus (P₂O₅) | About 80 kg | About 32 kg | All at planting |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 100 kg | About 40 kg | All at planting |
| Zinc Sulphate with Micronutrient Mixture | 25–30 kg | 10 kg | At planting, as per label and soil test |
In common fertilizers, one acre works out to roughly: 70 kg DAP + 67 kg muriate of potash + about 50 kg urea at planting, then about 78 kg urea at earthing up.
Zinc and boron shortages are common in intensively cropped potato fields and reduce tuber size and quality. A micronutrient mixture at planting covers them together:
Irrigation and earthing up
- First irrigation: light, about 7–10 days after planting, once sprouts are about to emerge.
- Then about every 8–12 days depending on soil and weather — usually 7–10 light irrigations in the season.
- Fill furrows only half to two-thirds; water must not flow over the ridges, which causes rotting and hard soil.
- Before a frosty night, a light irrigation helps protect the crop.
- Stop irrigation about 10–15 days before haulm cutting.
Haulm cutting, harvest and storage
- Cut the haulms (tops) at ground level when the crop matures — 10–15 days before digging — so the tuber skin sets.
- For a seed crop, cut haulms early, by about the end of December to early January, before aphid numbers rise.
- Dig in dry weather, avoiding cuts and bruises.
- Cure tubers in a shaded, airy heap for 10–15 days, then sort out cut, green and diseased tubers.
- Seed potatoes keep best in cold storage at about 2–4 °C. Table and processing potatoes are stored as advised by your cold store for the market you sell to.
Not sure what your crop needs?Send clear photos of the crop — the whole plant, the affected leaves up close, and the field — with your crop and its age. Our team will reply in Hindi or English.
