A combination of cutting and
pre-sprouting
A corked cut surface with short, hard sprouts
Benefits
- Adds value to high-quality large seed potatoes
- Cutting makes a number of varieties easier to plant, such as Agria, Nicola and other elongated varieties
- Cutting eliminates apical dominance. Cutting activates the dormant eyes on the tuber. This results in 10-15% more stems per m² distributed more uniformly
- The new harvest is more uniform in size
- In some varieties, the old mother tubers are exhausted sooner and better.
- Cutting encourages the plants to emerge a week earlier. 10-14 days of pre-sprouting means harvesting can take place 2-3 weeks earlier
- In financial terms, the knife cuts both ways:
1. Cheaper seed potatoes (± €100 to €500 per ha.)
2. Better grades give higher yields - Cutting promotes rapid wound healing and sprouts in the pre-sprouting bags. See the advice below.
Advice on cutting and pre-sprouting*
- Use healthy, large (55+ mm) seed potatoes.
- The temperature of the tubers before cutting should be 12°–14°C.
- After cutting, place the potatoes into sacks in a single operation.
- Place the pre-sprouting racks in your shed for 10–14 days to ensure proper wound healing.
- Ensure there is a draught in the shed so that the cut seed potatoes dry quickly.
This prevents the cut seed potatoes from drying out and rotting. - Check daily how the seed potatoes are drying and, if necessary, take measures to speed up the drying process.
- Before placing the pre-sprouting racks with cut seed potatoes outside, cut 10 tubers to assess the quality of the corked cut surface.
- *ALL ADVICE IS BASED ON AVERAGE CONDITIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS. AS WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER THE QUALITY OF THE PLANTING MATERIAL, THE WEATHER, BUILDINGS, MACHINERY OR THE USER’S EXPERTISE, WE CANNOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITY FOR THE RESULTS.
Indoor
wound healing
- Increase the temperature to 15 to 20°C
- Ensure the relative humidity is as high as possible during the first 24 hours
- Place the cut seed potatoes in pre-sprouting bags in the shed for two weeks. This prevents the development of rot and the cut seed potatoes will not dry out
Hardening off
outdoors
When the cut surface has cured, after two weeks, the pre-sprouting racks can be placed outdoors to harden off further.
Tip: cut through a few seed potatoes first to check whether the surface has cured.
Cut seed potato
with sprout
It is the end result that counts.
Cut seed potatoes with a cured cutting surface and a short, hard sprout.
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