Vector Potato: Variety Description, Characteristics, and Reviews

Vegetable crops bred in distant European countries are increasingly prized. This includes potatoes. However, few people know that Vector potatoes are in no way inferior to foreign varieties in terms of their characteristics and taste.This potato is relatively undemanding and easy to grow. This is what has earned the Vector potato a cultivar's popularity among many gardeners. Let's take a closer look at this variety in our article.

Description and characteristics of the Vector potato

The Vector variety is easy to distinguish from other varieties. Its bush is medium-sized and has small green leaves. When the potato blooms, its inflorescences take on a purple hue. The photos of the tubers, shown below, are an important part of the Vector potato variety's description.

Mature tubers are pink. When grown properly, the potatoes should have very few eyes. Vector is most often grown in the central regions of the country. This variety is considered mid-late, as it takes at least 100 days from sowing to full ripening.

Vector Potato: Yield, History

This potato variety was first grown in Belarus, hence its original name, "Vektar Belorussky." Vektor has been cultivated for quite some time, but it was only officially registered in the State Register in 2013. Its popularity is largely due to its high yield. A single plant can produce up to 14 tubers, weighing between 90 and 150 grams.

Landing rules

How you plant the Vector potato variety will play a major role in the fertility and quality of your harvest. It's important to choose the right tubers for planting. It's important to understand that a small potato will never grow into a magnificent bush. Therefore, choose tubers no smaller than a chicken egg for planting. Potatoes for planting should also have a smooth surface and a large number of eyes.

Once you've selected suitable tubers, spread them evenly in the boxes and wait for the sprouts to emerge. You can speed up this process by adding sawdust to the box and watering them lightly. Once the potatoes have sprouted, take them out into the sun a few days before planting to warm them up.

It's important to select and prepare a site for planting potatoes in advance. As mentioned earlier, Vector is relatively undemanding about soil conditions, but if you have a choice, it's best to choose slightly acidic and neutral soils.

You can fertilize the soil for planting twice: once during the fall digging (this can be omitted), and again immediately before planting. On the day you plan to plant the potatoes, dig small holes about the size of a shovel, spaced 50 cm apart. Add a fertilizer based on rotted manure and wood ash to these holes.

Don't worry about overdoing it with fertilizer—Vector potatoes won't respond to a slight increase in dosage. Place the potatoes sprout-side up on the fertilizer and carefully cover them with soil. Be careful not to damage the sprouts! Finally, level the soil with a rake.

Care instructions

You should begin loosening the soil and removing weeds as soon as the first shoots appear. Since the young shoots are very fragile, loosening the soil should be done carefully and shallowly.

Like any other plant, Vector potatoes require watering. Although this variety is resistant to adverse conditions, including heat, it still requires regular watering. A recommended watering rate is 1 liter per plant.

You can start fertilizing the plant after the first watering. The easiest way to fertilize is to add 1 tablespoon of urea to each bucket of water you use to water the potatoes. For maximum results, fertilize the plants after loosening the soil.

Diseases and pests

The Vector potato variety's characteristics state that it is resistant to many diseases. This is true, but there are some diseases that can affect even this resistant variety.

1. Late blight is a common disease that can affect almost all potato varieties. It is a fungal infection. To prevent late blight, it is important to promptly remove weeds from the beds and, as a preventative measure, spray the plants with a copper sulfate solution every 10 days. Ridomil fungicide can help combat this disease. Follow the instructions for use.
2. Dry spot. It appears as black spots on the leaves several weeks before flowering. Alternaria, as this disease is also known, affects all parts of the potato plant. It occurs exclusively due to the sowing of infected tubers. Therefore, it is crucial to choose the right seedlings. If you miss this step and your potatoes become infected with Alternaria, spray them with a solution of Profit or Utan to treat them during the growing season.
3. Scab. Tubers infected with scab are covered with ulcers that merge into a single spot. This disease also occurs due to inattentive inspection of tubers before planting. To prevent common scab, spray the tubers with Trichodermin before planting. Once ulcers appear on potato tubers, they are impossible to cure.

In addition to diseases, Vector potatoes are also susceptible to certain insects. These include:

1. Colorado potato beetle. The orange larvae of this insect are particularly dangerous. They are voracious and can chew through entire potato leaves. To prevent this, it's important to promptly remove adult Colorado potato beetles from potato plants before they lay their eggs on the undersides of the leaves. Adult Colorado potato beetles have white stripes along their backs, making them easy to distinguish from other insects. To get rid of these beetles, you can pick them off by hand or use the insecticide Carado.
2. The mole cricket is a large underground insect (up to 5 cm long) that burrows underground and damages potato tubers. To eliminate these insects, you can add small pieces of eggshell to the soil while tilling, as these can easily injure the mole crickets. Chrysanthemums can also be planted around the perimeter of your garden beds to get rid of this pesky pest. Chemical pesticides such as Rembek and Vofatox can also solve the problem.
3. Slug. A notorious pest of vegetable crops, it feeds on potato leaves and fruits. It is brown in color and has a reduced shell. This insect is most active at night. To get rid of slugs in your garden, you can break open eggshells and scatter them throughout the garden bed. Slugs are fragile, so if an insect crawls across the sharp shell, it will suffer serious injury and is unlikely to damage the potatoes. You can also place boards or roofing felt on the ground—these are favorable places for slugs to congregate—and then remove the pests by hand.

Last but not least, a dangerous garden pest is the wireworm. Its name perfectly matches its appearance: its body, up to 2 cm long, orange coloring, and black head make it resemble a piece of wire. Making a trap for these pests is quite easy. To do this, impale potato pieces on toothpicks and bury them 15 cm into the ground.

After 5 days, remove the potato with a toothpick and remove the wireworm larvae from the trap. To prevent these insects from appearing, spray the planting holes with a potassium permanganate solution. If the above methods don't work, use Bazudin.

Harvesting

Root crops can be dug up 100 days after planting. It's worth noting that the Vector potato is resistant to transportation and damage, and keeps well throughout the winter.

Reviews

Reviews of the Vector potato variety typically highlight its advantages, while less frequently they highlight some of its drawbacks. Experienced gardeners agree that Vector potatoes have three main drawbacks. First, they become overly soft when boiled, which interferes with the preparation of certain dishes.

However, the Vector potato variety is still suitable for cooking, as it retains its golden color during cooking. Secondly, reviews of the Vector potato variety often mention its late ripening. The final and most important drawback is its high starch content, amounting to 17 to 19% of the potato's total weight.

This variety has many more advantages. These include high yields, tolerance to temperature fluctuations, undemanding soil conditions, good winter storage, and excellent taste.

If you carefully read the descriptions of the Vector potato variety, plant and care for it according to the instructions, and read the photos and reviews, the fruits of your labor will delight you with their amazing taste all winter long.