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.     

Detection of potato spindle tuber viroid by nucleic acid spot hybridization: Evaluation with tuber sprouts and true potato seed

A diagnostic test for the potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTV) that is based on hybridization of highly radioactive, recombinant DNA complementary to PSTV with PSTV bound to a nitrocellulose membrane and autoradiographic detection of the resulting DNA-RNA hybrids has been evaluated with tubers from 20 potato clones maintained at the International Potato Center (CIP) and with true seed obtained from healthy or PSTV-infected potato plants. The nucleic acid spot hybridization test detected PSTV not only in tuber sprouts from 10 clones that had previously tested positive in polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic (PAGE) analysis, but also in tuber sprouts from 9 clones that had previously tested negative in PAGE analysis. Further tests confirmed the presence of PSTV in these clones. The spot hybridization test detected PSTV in mixtures of seed extracts equivalent to as few as one seed from a PSTV-infected plant and 80 seeds from healthy plants. The spot hybridization test was shown to be more sensitive and reliable than PAGE analysis; it is suitable for the testing of large numbers of samples with a minimum expenditure of labor and materials.     

Effect of gibberellic acid on sprouting,growth of internodes,tuber shape and yield in different varieties of potatoes

Summary Sprouting was hastened by one week by treatment for 5 min, with gibberellic acid (GA) at a concentration of 25 p.p.m. in newly dug potatoes ofUp-to-Date andVoran. A similar effect was noted inRoyal Kidney treated at a concentration of 50 p.p.m. Although some sprouting occurred within 7 days in treated tubers, 100% sprouting had not occurred until 21–36 days after treatment. There was increased extention of internodes following treatment with GA at concentrations of 25, 50 and 100 p.p.m. Treatment at 100 p.p.m. resulted in the greatest extention of internodes. At the higher concentrations the maximum extension occurred between internodes 4–6 inRoyal Kidney andVoran, and 4–7 inUp-to-Date. Treatment with GA had a depressing effect on leaf indices inRoyal Kidney andUp-to-Date whereas inVoran it had the reverse effect. In all varieties, yield in pot experiments was increased by treatment with GA at 100 p.p.m. for 90 min. All treated seed invariably produced deformed tubers the numbers of which increased with the concentration of GA.

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Zusammenfassung Das Auskeimen von frisch geernteten Kartoffeln der SortenUp-to-Date undVoran (Abb. 1 b und c) wurde durch Behandlung mit Gibberellins?ure (GA) (Eintauchzeit 5 Minuten, Konzentration 25 ppm) um eine Woche beschleunigt. Eine ?hnliche Wirkung konnte bei der SorteRoyal Kidney festgestellt werden, die mit GA in einer Konzentration von 50 ppm (Abb. 1 a) behandelt wurde. Obwohl einige der behandelten Knollen nach 7 Tagen austrieben, wurde 100%ige Keimung erst 21–36 Tage nach der Behandlung erreicht. Die Behandlung mit GA in Konzentrationen von 25, 50 und 100 ppm bewirkte eine Verl?ngerung der Internodien. Die Konzentration von 100 ppm verursachte die gr?sste Ausdehnung der Internodien. Bei der h?chsten Konzentration lag die gr?sste Verl?ngerung zwischen den Internodien Nr. 4-6 beiRoyal Kidney undVoran, zwischen 4–7 bei der SorteUp-to-Date (Tabelle). Behandlung mit GA hatte bei den SortenRoyal Kidney undUp-to-Date eine Verkleinerung des Blattindexes zur Folge, w?hrend beiVoran eine umgekehrte Wirkung hervorgerufen wurde (Abb. 2). Topfversuche ergaben nach Behandlung mit GA in einer Konzentration von 100 ppm und einer Eintauchzeit von 90 Minuten bei allen Sorten h?here Ertr?ge (Abb. 3). Alle Behandlungen führten zu Knollendeformationen, deren Anzahl sich mit der st?rker werdenden Konzentration von GA erh?hte (Abb. 4).

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Résumé Un traitement pendant 5 minutes à l'acide gibberellique (G.A.) à une concentration de 25 p.p.m. a avancé d'une semaine la germination de tubercules nouvellement récoltés des variétésUp-to-Date etVoran (Fig. 1, b et c). On a obtenu un semblable effet avecRoyal Kidney traitée à une concentration de 50 p.p.m. (Fig. 1 a). Quoique quelque germination apparaissait endéans 7 jours chez les tubercules traités, la germination à 100% ne se manifestait que 21 à 36 jours après le traitement. Un allongement des entre-noeuds suivait le traitement avec G.A. aux concentrations de 25, 50 et 100 p.p.m. Le traitement à 100 p.p.m. causait le plus grand allongement des entrenoeuds. Aux concentrations les plus élevées, l'accroissement maximum se manifestait entre les entre-noeuds 4 et 6 chezRoyal Kidney etVoran, et 4 et 7 chezUp-to-Date (Tableau). Le traitement au G.A. a un effet dépressif sur les indices foliaires chezRoyal Kidney etUp-to-Date, tandis que chezVoran l'effet est inverse (Fig. 2). Chez toutes les variétés, la production dans les expériences en pots est accrue par le traitement avec G.A. à 100 p.p.m. pendant 90 minutes (Fig. 3). Tous les plants traités produisent invariablement des tubercules déformés dont le nombre augmentait avec les concentrations de GA (Fig. 4).

     

Retardation of shoot growth and promotion of tuber growth of potato plants by paclobutrazol

The relationship between shoot growth and tuber yield in potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Russet Burbank) was studied under greenhouse conditions using paclobutrazol [(2R,3R + 2S,3S)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-(l,2-4-triazol-l-yl)-pentan-3-ol), PP333], a growth retardant. Concurrent with reduction of stem elongation by the application of paclobutrazol to base of the main stem was a decrease in the dry weight of the shoot and an increase in the dry weight of the tuber. The inhibitory effect of paclobutrazol on stem elongation was reversed by gibberellic acid A₃ (GA₃). Leaf content of raffinose sugar and chlorophyll increased upon paclobutrazol treatment.     

In vitro tuberization of potato sprouts as affected by ethrel and gibberellic acid

Summary In vitro tuberization of etiolated potato sprouts was considerably advanced by a dose of 50 ppm ethrel (2-chloro-ethyl-phosphonic acid). The adition of ethrel also increased the number of tubers, produced shorter and thicker stolons and reduced root development. Some of these effects are opposite to those induced by gibberellic acid which is known to retard tuberization and to promote elongation. When both substances were simultaneously supplied to the medium, they showed a clear antagonistic interaction.     

Some observations of patterns of tuber formation and growth in the potato

Summary Patterns of tuber formation and growth were studied with the varieties Désirée Maris Piper and Peniland Crown. The varieties formed similar numbers of stolons but different numbers of tubers. More tubers were formed at the first node than at any other but Pentland Crown formed fewer tubers over nodes 2–8 than the other varieties. The range of nodes over which tubers formed and competition for photosynthate within a node appeared to be factors controlling the tuber size distribution. The time over which tuber formation occurred was not important. Measurements of individual tuber growth suggested that some tubers followed an approximately sigmoid curve, some grew linearly and some showed periods of tuber growth interrupted by periods when the tubers grew slowly if at all. Estimation of the fresh and dry weights of growing tubers using a relationship between the product of tuber axis lengths and the weights of harvested tubers proved most satisfactory.

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Zusammenfassung In einer Reihe von Versuchen, bei denen die Sorten Désirée, Maris Piper und Pentland Crown verwendet wurden, wurden die Muster der Knollenbildung und das Knollenwachstum untersucht. Diese 3 Sorten haben bei gleichem Pflanzenabstand eine unterschiedliche Verteilung der Knollengr?sse; Pentland Crown neigt zur Produktion grosser Knollen, Maris Piper bringt viele kleinere Knollen und Désirée liegt dazwischen. Um die Knollenbildung zu verfolgen, wurden dreimal in der Woche Proben der wachsenden Pflanzen genommen und die Zahl der Stolonen und Knollen pro Nodium gez?hlt (Tabelle 1). Um das Wachstum der Einzelknollen in Kisten (Fig. 1) und im Feld unter Polythenfolie (Fig. 2) zu verfolgen, wurden die drei Hauptachsen gemessen und daraus das Volumen (in der Annahme, dass die Knolle ein Ellipsoid ist) oder das Gewicht errechnet (wobei das lineare Verh?ltnis zwischen dem Produkt der Knollenachsen und dem Frisch- und Trockengewicht von Knollen verwendet wurde, die unter gleichen Bedingungen gewachsen waren und jede Woche geerntet wurden, wenn die Messungen gemacht wurden). Diese Technik erwies sich als befriedigend und in Tabelle 2 sind die Werte der Parameter für die erste und letzte Messung in jedem Jahr zusammen mit den entsprechenden Bestimmtheitsmassen angegeben. Die Sorten bildeten die gleiche Anzahl von Stolonen aber unterschiedliche Knollenzahlen. Am ersten Knoten wurden mehr Knollen als an irgend einem anderen gebildet, aber Pentland Crown bildete an den Nodien 2–8 weniger Knollen als die anderen Sorten. Das Verh?ltnis der Gesamtzahl der Knollen pro Nodium und der Knollenzahl pro Nodium ausgedrückt in Prozent der Stolonenzahl (Fig. 3) unterschied sich zwischen den Sorten betr?chtlich und ist vielleicht für die unterschiedliche Verteilung der Knollengr?ssen verantwortlich. Die Zeit der Knollenbildung war bei allen Sorten gleich. In den Versuchen über das Knollenwachstum wurden mehr als 500 Knollen gemessen und einige sind in Fig. 4–6 dargestellt. Es sieht so aus, als ob einige Knollen einer ungef?hr S-f?rmigen Kurve folgten, einige wuchsen linear und einige zeigten Perioden des Wachstums, die durch Perioden unterbrochen waren, in denen die Knollen wenn überhaupt nur langsam wuchsen.

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Résumé Des types de tubérisation et de croissance ont été étudiés au cours d'une expérimentation de variétés portant sur Désirée, Maris Piper et Pentland Crown. Plantées à la même densité, ces variétés donnent différentes répartitions de calibre. Pentland Crown tend à produire de gros tubercules; Maris Piper produit un grand nombre de petits tubercules et Désirée est intermédiaire. La tubérisation a été suivie en prélevant des échantillons en cours de végétation 3 fois par semaine et en enregistrant le nombre de stolons et de tubercules formés à chaque noeud (tableau 1). Le grossissement de chaque tubercule, en caisses de bois (fig. 1), et au champ sous polyéthylène (fig. 2), a été suivi en mesurant les trois axes principaux et en transformant ces mesures en volume (on suppose que le tubercule est un ellipso?de), ou en poids (en utilisant la relation linéaire entre produit des axes et poids frais et sec des tubercules cultivés dans des conditions identiques et récoltés chaque semaine). Cette technique donne satisfaction et les valeurs des paramètres pour les premières et dernières mesures de chaque année sont indiquées dans le tableau 2 avec les coefficients de détermination appropriés. Les variétés forment un nombre de stolons similaire mais un nombre de tubercules différents. Des tubercules plus nombreux se sont formés au premier noeud, mais Pentland Crown présentait moins de tubercules aux noeuds, 2–8 que les autres variétés. Le rapport du nombre de tubercules par noeud et du nombre de tubercules formés à chaque noeud, exprimé en pourcentage du nombre de stolons (fig. 3) différait considérablement d'une variété à l'autre. La répartition des calibres de ces variétés a probablement été influencé. L'époque de tubérisation était la même pour chacune d'entre elles. Au cours de cette expérimentation, plus de 500 tubercules ont été mesurés (fig. 4–6). Pour certains tubercules, il appara?t que la courbe tubérisation s'apparente à une sigmo?de. Pour d'autres, la croissance est linéaire, parfois interrompue par des périodes de croissance ralentie.

     

Evaluation of potato clones for resistance to tuber and stem rot induced byErwinia chrysanthemi

Tubers of 149 clones ofSolarium tuberosum subsp.andigena (andigena) from four self-pollinated (S₁) families (Jak 072, 702440, 700718 and Och 5331) obtained from true seed were rated for resistance toErwinia chrysanthemi. The clones were classified into four arbitrary categories based on disease reaction: resistant, intermediate, susceptible, and very susceptible. In family Jak 072, 23% of the clones were resistant and 61% intermediate. In family Och 5331, 22% of the clones were susceptible and 67% very susceptible; and in families 702440 and 700718, 38% and 29% of the clones were intermediate and 45% and 40% were susceptible, respectively. Tubers of 11 clones chosen to represent each one of the four categories were inoculated withE. chrysanthemi (Ech), E. carotovora subsp.carotovora (Ecc) andE. carotovora subsp.atroseptica (Eca). Clones responded similarly toEch andEca. However,Ecc induced significantly more rot thanEch orEca, presumably favored by the temperature of incubation (25°C). Clones Jak 072-17 and Jak 072-18 were resistant to the three bacterial pathogens. Above ground stems of 6 of the 11 selected clones inoculated withEch were susceptible to stem rot. No correlation was found between the response of tubers and above ground stems to tuber and stem rot induced byEch.     

Effect of N6benzyladenine on vegetative growth and tuber production in potato

Effects of 0, 10, 20 and 30 ppm N⁶Benzyladenine and 1, 2 and 3 applications on a summer variety of potato were studied in a factorial experiment. Benzyladenine at 10–20 ppm regardless of the number of applications significantly increased number of shoots per plant. This was noticed as early as 20 days after the first application. Two applications regardless of concentration, and a combination of two applications and 20 ppm concentration significantly increased the total length of main shoots. There were no significant changes in tuber production.     

The influence of abscisin II and gibberellic acid on the sprouting of excised potato buds

Summary It was shown that abscisin II at low concentration (0.5–10⁻⁵ M) has a significant growth inhibiting effect on the sprouting of excised potato buds. The growth accelerating effect of GA is partly suppressed by abscisin II. No effect could be observed on the length of the dormant period. GA seems to have a negative influence on the root formation. Combined treatment with GA and abscisin II nearly completely inhibited root formation.     

Accumulation of protein,non-protein nitrogen and starch during tuber growth of three potato cultivars

The proportion of protein and non-protein nitrogen (NPN) in tuber dry matter decreases rapidly during the initial stages of tuber growth. Protein then stabilizes but NPN increases during the final stages of tuber growth. The percentage of starch in the dry matter increases rapidly during early tuber growth and then either stabilizes or increases at a slower rate. Protein and starch are accumulated at constant rates with respect to tuber growth and the relative amount of protein or starch in the tuber is logarithmically related to tuber size. During tuber growth some protein molecular weight classes increase in concentration while others decrease. We propose a model, based on the growth of storage parenchyma, to explain the data.     

Planting materials for warm tropic potato production: growth and yield of transplanted seedlings or rooted cuttings and tuber materials in the field

Expansion of potato production in lowland tropical regions has been constrained by the lack of planting materials, given that adapted genotypes and suitable field management practices now exist.

The respective performance of transplanted materials (i.e., true potato seed (TPS) seedlings or rooted stem cuttings) produced in situ in the warm tropics were compared with that of genetically identical seedling tubers (tubers produced from seedlings) or seed tubers. Seed and seedling tubers had been previously produced under optimal cool conditions. Transplanted materials achieved lower maximum leaf area index than did tuber materials (1.3–2.2 vs. 2.7) but relative growth rates of cuttings and seedlings were greater. This was in part due to the greater net assimilation rate of cuttings and to greater leaf:stem ratio for both compared with plants originating from tubers. Stolon and tuber formation were greater in seed tubers than in cuttings and in seedlings versus seedling tubers. On average, seedlings produced 14 tubers per plant, apical cuttings 12, seedling tubers 8, and stem cuttings 6.

Tuber yields within a genotype were statistically similar for crops from seed tubers or cuttings and for crops from seedling tubers or seedlings. However, the proportion of marketable (i.e., > 3.5 cm diameter) tubers was approximately 12% less in the crops from seed tuber and seedlings compared with those from cuttings and seedling tubers, respectively. Within a genotype, the crop duration in the field was similar whatever the type of planting material. Maximum yields, at 23 t/ha in warm sites, were still below those of temperate potato crops, but could be achieved equally well with transplanted in situ-produced materials or imported cool-climate seed tubers.