Diurnal changes in net photosynthetic rate in potato in two environments

Summary Diurnal changes in net photosynthetic rate were measured in a furrow-irrigated potato crop and in a riverbed crop where the water table was always maintained at 20–28 cm from the soil surface. In the irrigated crop, the photosynthetic rate during mid-afternoon was about half the peak rate observed at noon. This reduction was accompanied by a near tripling of stomatal resistance, a 45% reduction in transpiration, and a 5-fold increase in the difference between leaf and air temperatures. No such changes were observed in the riverbed crop where the photosynthetic rate remained nearly constant at about 0.9 mg m⁻² s⁻¹ between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuber yield in the riverbed crop was about 30% higher than in the irrigated crop.