POTATO GROWING METHOD Russian patent published in 2004 - IPC

FIELD: agriculture, in particular, cultivation of food and seed potato under different conditions. SUBSTANCE: method involves forming ridges with 140 cm spacing in autumn and, depending on soil state and weedage development, tilling by cultivator combined with toothed ripper; in spring, preliminarily reforming ridges for potato tuber planting in spacings in case of hot weather or in ridges in wet weather and simultaneously ripping bases of future ridges; planting tubers in single row by means of re-equipped potato planter and simultaneously applying various fertilizers in layers in predetermined parts of future ridge; re-equipping cultivators to provide for seedlings care by mounting cultivator sections extended by 40 cm onto cultivator frame in each 140 cm; fixing ripper-hiller in said sections forward thereof as far as possible and setting said sections to 8-9 cm depth; fixing by yokes additional spring-loaded independently regulated beams at both sides of main sections for attachment of second-row working tools to depth of up to 18 cm with protective zone of 15-16 cm from tuber row center; attaching third-row rippers at end of some sections to depth of 17-18 cm and 22-cm wide subsoilers rearward thereof, with subsoilers being set for 24-25 cm depth between sections; suspending toothed rippers by means of chains so that rippers do not withdraw tubers from soil to prevent them from damage, said rippers being adjustable according to shape and size of ridges and passing at depth of 4-6 cm with width of up to 120 cm. During advancement of cultivator, two-tier or three-tier first-row rippers-hillers crumble soil, divide 8-9 cm thick furrow layer at two tiers. Lower 3-4 cm thick layer falls onto furrow bottom after ripping process, upper 4-5 cm thick layer is ejected aside to fall onto immediately arranged three-tier second-row rippers catching this layer and forwardly arranged soil layer for ripping thereof and throwing aside toward center of ridge to be formed. Method allows potato to be grown without use of herbicides. EFFECT: increased yield and quality of potato, reduced power and seed consumption, and reduced weedage of soil. 1 dwg