Hill to hill variations in tuber yield of potatoes in Alberta

The hill to hill variation in tuber yield and mainstem number was studied on 18 potato farms. There were up to 14-fold differences in the tuber yield per hill among plants of Norland, Russet Burbank, Norchip, Carlton and Alaska Red. The mainstem number was more variable than tuber weight per hill in Norland, Russet Burbank and Alaska Red. However, the opposite was true in Norchip and Carlton. In nearly all comparisons, the number of tubers per hill was less variable than tuber weight and mainstem number per hill. The total variation in tuber weight found in about 50% of the samples could be explained by the variance of hills within rows. Even in samples where an added variance component due to differences among rows was present, relatively more variation occurred within than among rows. The correlation coefficients between the number of mainstems and tuber weight per hill were positive but significant (P&< 0.05) only in Norland and Norchip. The correlation coefficients between the number of mainstems and number of tubers per hill were also positive but slightly higher and significant (P<0.01) in all 5 cultivars. The coefficient of determination values indicated that variation in cut seed piece weight explained only about 10% of the total variation in tuber weight harvested per hill. At a spacing of 30 cm within the row, a major proportion of hill to hill variation in tuber yield had to be explained by factors other than the seed piece weight.     

The influence of potassium fertilizer application on tuber yield and mineral element content of potato petioles during the growing season

Potassium was applied at rates equivalent to 0, 135, and 250 pounds per acre (0, 151, 180 kg K/ha) to study the effect of soil applied K on tuber yields and concentration of mineral elements in the petioles of potato plants during growth both measured at 14 day intervals. Petioles were analyzed for N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Mg, Zn, Cu, Al, Mn, and B. Seasonal trends in petiolar K content were highly correlated with tuber bulking regardless of rate of K application. Increasing K application rates generally increased petiolar levels of K and Zn (early in the season) and decreased the levels of N, Mg, Ca, Zn (late in the season), Al, Fe, Cu, and B in the petioles. Concentrations of P and Mn were unaffected by K applications. Seasonal trends in the mineral element content of petioles were not influenced by K. Results indicate that a prediction model for tuber yield based upon trends in the K content of petioles is valid under differing soil levels of K.     

Relationships between stem number,tuber set and yield of Russet Burbank potatoes

Five storage temperatures and three planting dates were used to obtain differences in seed performance. As seed storage temperature increased, average stem number per seed piece significantly increased. Stem number also increased with later planting dates. Germination tests, conducted under controlled temperatures, resulted in a curvilinear response with the least stems per seed piece at 10°C. a maximum stem number at 16°C and a slight decline in number at 21°C. The major effect of planting date was manifested through differences in germinating temperatures which resulted in increased stem number with later plantings. Yield of U.S. No. 1 tubers (5cm or 112 gm minimum) declined significantly as stem number increased. In the first planting, the correlation coefficient between stem number per seed piece and yield was r = ?0.95. Increased stem number and declining yield were attributed to advanced physiological age resulting from exposure to higher temperatures in storage and in the field. As stem number increased with planting date, tuber number also increased. The correlation coefficient between stem and tuber number for the first planting date was r = 0.92. The relationship declined significantly on the third planting date to r = 0.46. From these results it was concluded that economic yields are influenced by stem and tuber number which in turn can be manipulated by control of seed storage temperatures and planting dates.     

Influencing seed tuber yield of Ranger Russet and Shepody potatoes with gibberellic acid

Freshly-cut seed pieces of the potato cultivars Ranger Russet and Shepody were dipped in 0, 0.5, 1 or 2 mg/1 Gibberellic Acid (GA₃) prior to planting. GA₃ treatments increased stem and tuber numbers per hill of both cultivars and shifted tuber size profile toward the production of more seed-sized (up to 226 g) tubers and fewer large (greater than 340 g) tubers. The effect of GA₃ on reducing average tuber size was similar for the two cultivars. Total tuber yields were not affected. A 2 mg GA₃/1 seed piece dip decreased the yield of US#1 tubers in Ranger Russet primarily due to a significant increase in yield of tubers less than 226 g. Also, yields of culls were greater after a 1 mg GA₃/1 seed piece treatment, suggesting Ranger Russet is sensitive to this concentration of GA₃. One and 2 mg GA₃/1 seed piece dips to Shepody increased yields of tubers less than 113 g by 93% and reduced the yield of tubers greater than 340 g by 25% to 50%. GA₃ at 1 to 2 mg/1 may be useful in the production of seed potatoes with the cultivar Shepody which tends to produce many large tubers.     

The influence of curing conditions on weight loss of potatoes during storage

During investigations in 1968 and 1969 it was found that final weight losses of potatoes during storage were strongly influenced by the temperature and relative humidity under which the potatoes were kept for a limited period immediately after harvest. After initial temperatures not lower than 7.5 C and up to 20 C with a relative humidity of 100% for two weeks followed by storage at 5 C and 85% relative humidity, weight losses at the end of the storage period amounted to 4.8–5.0% in 1968 and 5.6–5.9% in 1969 as compared to, respectively, 6.8 and 7.5% for tubers which had been placed at 5 C and 85% relative humidity immediately after harvest. If the relative humidity was low during the first two weeks after harvest, weight losses, at the same temperature, ranged from 5.1 to 5.8% in 1968 and from 6.6 to 7.0% in 1969.     

Influence of pre-sprouting on tuber number,size and yield of King Edward potatoes

Summary Experiments show that sprouting treatment, seed size and spacing affect the number and size of tubers produced. Early sprouting gives fewer sprouts per set and hence plants per hill than late sprouting. The number of tubers produced is directly related to the number of plants. Sets with few sprouts (plants) produce fewer tubers than sets with many sprouts. Small seed produces fewer plants and hence tubers than large seed. The size of the tubers is inversely related to tuber numbers. In 1960 unsprouted seed produced fewer and larger tubers than pre-sprouted seed butPhytophthora infestans was not experienced. Early sprouting, small seed and wide spacing increased tuber size, but early sprouted seed planted closely gives a higher yield of ware than late sprouted seed planted further apart. Pre-sprouting results in earlier emergence and tuber set but does not necessarily increase the yield of ware. If early drought occurs, presprouting may increase the proportion of mishapen tubers.

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Zusammenfassung Versuche haben ergeben, dass Vorkeimung, Gr?sse der Saatknollen und Pflanzabstand die Anzehl und Gr?sse der erzeugten Knollen beeinflussen. Frühkeimung gibt weiiger Triebe je Pflanzknolle und somit Pflanzen je Staude als Sp?tkeimung. Die Anzahl der erzeugten Knollen steht in direktem Verh?ltnis zu der Zahl der Pflanzen, Pflanzknollen mit wenig Trieben (Pflanzen) liefern weniger Knollen als Saatgut mit vielen Trieben. Kleine Saatknollen ergeben weniger Pflanzen und somit Knollen als grosse Saatknollen. Die Gr?sse der Knollen steht in umgekehrtem Verh?ltnis zu der Knollenzahl. Im Jahre 1960 ergaben ungekeimte Saatknollen weniger und gr?ssere Knollen als vorgekeimte Saatknollen, jedoch kam kein Befall vonPhytophthora infestans vor. Durch Frühkeimung, kleine Saatknollen und weiten Pflanzabstand wurde die Knollengr?sse gesteigert; vorgekeimte Saatknollen bei enger Pflanzung ergaben jedoch einen h?heren Ertrag an Verbrauchskartoffeln als sp?tgekeimte, die in gr?sserem Abstand gepflanzt waren. Vorkeimen bewirkt früheren Aufgang und Knollenansatz, erh?ht jedoch nicht unbedingt den Ertrag an Verbrauchskartoffeln. Wenn früh Trockenheit eintritt, kann das Vorkeimen Ursache eines gr?sseren Anteils an missgebildeten Knollen sein.

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Résumé Des essais ont démontré que la prégermination, la grosseur des plants et leur espacement influencent le nombre et la grosseur des tubercules récoltés. Une germination précoce donne moins de pousses par plant, c’est-à-dire moins de plantes par touffe qu’une germination tardive. Le nombre de tubercules obtenus est directement proportionnel au nombre de plantes. Les plants portant peu de pousses (peu de plantes) produisent moins de tubercules que les plants qui présentent des pousses nombreuses. Les petits plants donnent moins de plantes et donc moins de tubercules que les gros plants. La grosseur des tubercules obtenus est indirectement proportionnelle à leur nombre. En 1960, les plants non prégermés produisirent des tubercules moins nombreux et plus gros que les plants prégermés, mais il n’y eut pas d’attaque dePhytophtophthora infestans. La germination précoce, le petit format des plants et leur grand espacement faisaient augmenter la grosseur des tubercules, mais les plants prégermés et plantés et plantés serré donnaient un plus haut rendement en tubercules de consommation que les plants germés tard et espacés davantage. La prégermination occasionne une levée plus précoce et une tubérisation également plus précoce, mais n’augmente pas nécessairement le rendement en tubercules de consommation. En cas de sécheresse au début de saison, la prégermination peut accro?tre le nombre de tubercules difformes.

     

Antioxidant capacity, anthocyanins and total phenolics in purple-and red-fleshed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes

Purple- and red-fleshed potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) were evaluated for their total anthocyanin (ACY), total phenolic (PHEN), and antioxidant capacity. The ACY and PHEN compounds were distributed throughout the tubers; however, a higher concentration was found at the stem-end than the bud-end. Although ACY and PHEN concentrations in potato peel were 0.9-to 1.6-fold higher than in potato flesh, overall contribution of the peel to ACY and PHEN contents of a potato slice was ～20%. These observations differ from the widespread idea that phytonutrients are mostly accumulated in the peel of tubers. The ACY and PHEN contents of different purple- and red-fleshed potato genotypes ranged from 11 to 174 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside/100 g fresh weight and from 76 to 181 mg chlorogenic acid/100 g fresh weight, respectively, and were genotype and location dependent. High positive correlations between antioxidant capacity and ACY and PHEN suggest that these compounds are mainly responsible for the antioxidant capacity. These results provide useful and important information for potato breeders and researchers in order to increase the antioxidant capacity and functional value of purple- and red-fleshed potatoes for the food and nutraceutical industries.     

Morphological changes in tuber buds during dormancy and initial sprout growth of seed potatoes

Summary Potato tuber dormancy is usually defined as lasting from tuber initiation until a sprout of 2 mm long has been formed under storage conditions optimal for sprouting. We tried to find out whether there is a period during which buds of seed tubers do not grow and whether different batches of seed take the same time to grow sprouts 2 mm long. We measured changes in number of leaf primordia and length of tuber buds of cvs Diamant and Désirée over two years. After early haulm pulling, buds did not grow for at least 60 days (‘Diamant’) or 95 days (‘Désirée’). Buds in both cultivars and two tuber weights of ‘Diamant’ took about 20 days from the estimated onset of sprouting to grow 2 mm long. We question whether this period is always similar and thus whether the moment sprouts 2 mm long have formed is a good criterion for the end of dormancy.     

Selection potential for tuber total nitrogen and total solids content in a tetraploid breeding population

A 2-year study of 10 crosses involving 20 different tetraploid parents from the USDA potato breeding program showed significant differences in tuber content of total nitrogen (TN, crude protein) and total solids among offspring means and among parents. Offspring TN ranged from 0.20–0.50% in 1968 and from 0.20–040% in 1969 (fresh-weight basis). Heritabilities in the narrow sense ranged from 24–34% (1 and 5 replicates, respectively) for TN and from 24–38% for solids. TN selection was indicated to be potentially as effective as solids selection. The expected gain from selecting 10 of 100 clones in a 5-replicate, 1-year test was calculated as 6.4% of the parental mean for TN and 3.4% for solids.     

Oat phenolic content and total antioxidant capacity during grain development

Oats (Avena sativa L.) were revaluated in recent years as a promising crop for improving the nutritional quality of foods, due to their richness in many bioactive compounds, including phenols. These plant secondary metabolites are useful as radical scavenging, and also possess positive biochemical effects against cardiovascular diseases, cancer growth and age-related diseases. Twenty oat cultivars were analyzed for their soluble phenol content (SPC, ranging 0.78–1.09 g_GAE/kg d.m.) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC, ranging 13.99–18.84 mmol TE/kg d.m.). In another experiment, the kinetics of SPC accumulation and TAC in the immature grains of five oat cultivars revealed a marked decrease of both parameters (−48.9% and −72.1%, respectively) from ten days after anthesis to maturity. These results could suggest a possible use of immature oat grains in human nutrition, as it was already proposed for other cereals.     

The effect of storage conditions on chemical content of raw potatoes and texture of cooked potatoes

Summary Texture of boiled potato tubers (cv. Beate) was studied over several months of storage at either 4 or 8 °C, in relation to dry matter content, non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), methyl groups, glucose, starch and amylose. The dry matter content decreased significantly during storage at 4 °C, but increased at 8 °C due to evaporation. The insoluble NSP contained rhamnose, galactose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, fucose and glucose; the first three sugars decreased significantly after the first 7 weeks of storage. Fracturability and percent compression before break increased during storage at 8 °C, particularly percent compression after 15 weeks. The change in fracturability could partly be explained (R²=43.4%) by the content of the NSP and the increase in percent compression by dry matter (R²=91.8%). Changes in texture during storage at 4 °C, however, were not striking, and could not be explained by changes in the potato components that were analysed.     

Effect of planting and harvest dates,location in the hill and tuber size on sugar content of Kennebec potatoes

A study was made with the Kennebec cultivar on the effect of planting and harvest times, location of tubers in the hill and tuber size on fructose, glucose and sucrose in tubers at harvest. The location of tubers in the hill did not affect fructose or glucose and had only a small effect on sucrose found in the tubers. Small tubers were higher in all three sugars than large tubers, and tubers from plants seeded later were higher in glucose and sucrose than tubers from plants seeded early. The early plantings at all harvests outyielded the late plantings. This together with the higher quality (lower sugars) support the recommendation that Kennebec potatoes to be used for processing should be planted early.