Ecological Requirements For Potato Crop Production

Altitude: 1500-3000m above sea level
Rainfall: above 700mm annually
Soils: well drained, fertile, medium-loam

Land preparation
Early ploughing and harrowing to remove all weeds is recommended. Apply 10-20 tons of well decomposed organic manure hectare.

Planting
Should be done during the onset of trains. Plant the crop on ridges, as a root crop this enhance good tuber formation. Plant the seeds 10cm deep at a spacing of 75cm by 25cm or 75cm by 30cm. Planting materials should be certified and should be sprouted before planting. Ensure the tubers have 4-5 sprouts at the time of planting. Seed rate is roughly 40 bags of 50kgs/ha equivalent to 2000kg per hectare.

Weeding
First weeding done after emergence, second weeding and earthing up before stolons form. Herbicide such as paraquat may be used as pre-emergence spray.