Potatoes, the world's fourth most mainstream nourishment crop, after maize, wheat, and rice, is a broadly consumed dinner in each nation. In Nigeria, it is consumed in more than 500,000 family units week after week, while in Ireland, it is considered as their staple sustenance.

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This exceptionally nutritional crop has a place with the kingdom Plantae, the sort Solanum and is a dull, tuberous crop from the perpetual nightshade Solanum Tuberosum.

The dangerous interest for their supply is to a great extent activated not simply by their top notch nature, but rather by the exceptionally nutritious esteem they contain. Contingent upon whether it is the sweet potato or the irish potato, a medium-sized potato gives a to a great degree low 110 calories, contains zero measures of cholesterol, fat, sodium, and are rich in Vitamin C, Potassium, press, Vitamin B6, and fiber.

INTRODUCTION

Potato farming is the commercial cultivation of potato crops for food and several other purposes. These crops are usually planted around March and then harvested between 13 to 20 weeks after.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

1). AS A FOOD SOURCE:

Potatoes are first a great source of food, because of their highly nutritious state. They can be boiled, fried, baked, roasted, and mashed for salads. While potatoes are largely boiled or fried in many parts of the world, in some areas, they’re used in the production of chocolates, cookies, and even pizza.

The food-health value of potatoes coupled with the advent of ready to eat potatoes largely sold on the roadsides and also as packaged products in some grocery stores, have made potato farming a valuable agribusiness to venture into.

2). USES OF POTATOES :

Potatoes aren’t just a source of food, but have a wide variety of domestic and experimental uses; like powering a light bulb, removing stains from windows, applications in the cosmetics industry, treating cardiovascular diseases, and several others.

POTATO FARMING ADVANTAGES

A good source of employment at the right scale.A great source of food.Potatoes can serve as a major export product.Remove stains.To clean windows.To make potato juice for ailments.Remove warts.Shine your silverwares e.g. cutlery.For cosmetic purposes.To relieve a burn.To absorb excess salt from a cooking pot.Eliminate rust from metal.Power a light bulb.

POTATO FACTS

The potato word comes from the Spanish word patata.Potatoes are vegetables, but contain a lot of starch.Potatoes contain various vitamins and mineralsStoring potatoes after purchase isn’t so efficient, but they are easy to grow.Potatoes are the 4th most important food crop in the world after maize, wheat, and rice.There are thousands of potato varieties, but not all are commercially viable.According to a 2010 report, China is the largest producer of potatoes.Although it has the same name, sweet potato is a root vegetable, and is loosely related to potato.Potatoes can be prepared and served in different ways including: frying, boiling, mashing, and baking.Potatoes are also known as spuds.The french fries usually contain a lot of fat, and so should be eaten scarcely.Potato chips are the most common food snacks around the world.

The Popularly known Potato Farming types :

1). The Red Potatoes:

Appearance:

small to medium;

round or slightly oblong;

smooth, thin red skin;

white fleshTexture: waxy, moist and smooth;

creamyFlavor: Subtly sweet;
mild medium sugar contentPreferred

uses: Roasting, mashing, salads, soups/stews

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2). The White Potatoes:

Appearance:

small to medium;

round to long shape;

white or tan skin;

white fleshTexture: medium starch;

slightly creamy, slightly dense;

thin, delicate skinFlavor: subtly sweet;

mild;

low sugar contentPreferred uses: mashing, salads, steaming/boiling, frying

Other Names: They’re also called the irish potato

OTHER POTATO VARIETIES INCLUDE:

The Yellow Potatoes

Also called sweet potatoes

The Purple/Blue Potatoes

The Fingerling Potatoes:

The Petite Potatoes:

POTATO FARM SETUP

1). SITE SELECTION :

Growing potatoes in an open area with full access to sunlight is the best way to go about the cultivation. The site could slope slightly, be protected from the wind, and be facing southward. A good source of water must also be located close to the farm to facilitate better irrigation whenever it is required.

The soil should be well drained, deep enough, and loose with a P.H of 5.5 to 6.5, for optimum results. Although potatoes can grow on a wide variety of soil types, even though partially acidic soils are the best, it is always important that you carry out soil tests to determine the crop’s fertilizer and lime requirements.
Choosing a farmland where no crop has been grown on for a consecutive period of 2 years is important to reduce the risk of diseases. The disease free state can also be maintained by ensuring constant crop rotation. This prevents nematodes like the eelworm, which can live for up to 20 to 30 years, from infesting your farmland.

2). MACHINERY :

For a successful yield, it is important to have a tractor, irrigation equipment, fertilizer applicators, spraying equipment, cultivation equipment, tipping device, forklift, diggers/harvesters, graders, bag sewing machines, scales, and bins.
While these machineries may seem directed towards high-income farmers, small scale farmers can still use traditional methods to carry the potato cultivation process.

3). SOIL PREPARATION :

Before planting your potatoes, it is critical that you prepare the soil far ahead, so it would have settled properly before the planting season. This preparation process could involve applying fertilizer and organic matter to the soil, and removing large stones and weed.

You should then prepare dry seed beds so as to prevent crop damage and compaction. Not paying attention to this results in a very low crop yield.

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4). Choose The Potato specie To Plant:

This phase is highly important because, it is critical you grow potatoes that your market wants. In making this decision, some factors to lookout for when selecting a potato variety to plant are:

Disease

resistance

Maturity

Yield

Storage

lifespan

Food quality

5). Follow Up Some salient Factors:

Here, you have to properly manage your potato farm based on some critical checklists. Some of them to watch include:

Proper Timing:
Potatoes should be planted in dry soil with a temperature of preferably 7°C.

Depth:
The depth should be between 12 to 15 cm below the surface, and between 4 to 5 cm above the furrow base in order to protect seeds against wet weather conditions. The type of potato and its seed is also a major determinant to the depth of the soil.

Seeding amount:
The size of the potato tubers and the cost management is highly important for an optimal seed rate.

Adequate space:
The tomatoes should be spaced for up to 12 inches. The soil type, moisture, fertility, harvest size, and potato variety is taken into account when arriving at a decision for this phase.

Drip Irrigation:
This is one of the best irrigation methods in potato farming, because it manages the moisture content well, and so, can be used in applying nutrients in precise amounts.

6). APPLICATION OF MANURE/FERTILIZER :

Substantial quantities of Phosphates, Nitrogen, and Potassium, must be applied to improve the tuber size, crop yield, and quality.

7) PEST CONTROL:

You’d have to introduce strict practices that eliminate weed to improve the water level of your soil, eradicate pests like the eelworm, slugs, wireworms and aphids, and you’d need to contain diseases like the blackleg and bacterial soft rot, potato blight, rhizoctonia, common and powdery scab, black scurf, and several others.

Controlling all these potato crop threats with strict practices is a very important step to follow.

8). HOW TO HARVEST

The right time to harvest your potatoes is highly dependent on the weather conditions, the growth season, and the desired tuber size. In the process of harvesting these potatoes, ensure there is minimal damage to the tubers before storage.

You will start off the harvest process by desiccation of the foliage. This is critical when the crop is going to be stored for a period of time. If the crops will be sold immediately, desiccation (burning off) is not a compulsory step to take.
After applying a desiccant, you’d need to wait for an average of 2 to 3 weeks before you can start or continue harvesting the potatoes. During this wait-period, the skin of the tubers will mature, and so increases its chances of surviving rot, due to damage or diseases at harvest and storage.

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9). PRESERVATION AND STORAGE:

The potatoes should be properly stored within the first 14 days of harvest to enable cuts on the potatoes to heal properly. For large quantities of potatoes, they should be stored in plastic containers rather than wooden containers, since the plastic storage facilities are a lot easier to clean.

DIFFICULTIES FOUND IN POTATO FARMING

Securing water for irrigation.The need for a long-term cross-rotation strategy.Pests and diseases.A shortage of skilled labour and seasoned staff.High costs of productionLack of quality potato seedHigh costs of fertilizerHigh costs of machinery.unstable market pricesConstant educationThey’re perishable goods (can be stored for up to 10 months, rather than years)