Influence of water and soil salinity on emergence and early development of potato (Solanum tubersum L.) cultivars and effect of physiological age of seed tubers

Summary Applying saline solutions (EC 3.2 up to 7.0 dS/m) to seed tubers of different cultivars planted in tuff delayed shoot emergence and root and shoot development. Fresh weight of most cultivars was decreased by 60% but cv. Serrana Inta was more tolerant to salinity and fresh weight was decreased by 20%. When planted in 500 cm³ pots containing loessial soil some seed tubers rotted and plant growth was severely inhibited, possibly because soil aeration was impeded. Physiologically ageing seed tubers for 33 days at 6°C decreased sensitivity of most cultivars to moderate salinity whereas ageing for 68 days increased sensitivity to high salinity. Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel. No. 2977-E, 1990 series.