Responses of three early potato cultivars to subsoiling and irrigation regime on a sandy soil

A compact subsoil restricts rooting and reduces the volume of soil from which plant roots can obtain water and nutrients. A reduced water supply may result in severe plant water stress between irrigations. A study was conducted on a sandy soil to evaluate the responses of three early potato cultivars (Norgold Russet, HiLite Russet, and Russet Norkotah) to subsoiling to loosen a compact subsoil and to four irrigation regimes. Differences among cultivar responses to irrigation and subsoiling treatments were minor. All performed best with daily irrigation to replace évapotranspiration (ET) and poorest when irrigation was interrupted during tuber bulking. With daily irrigation to replace ET, subsoiling had little benefit, but with inadequate irrigation, subsoiling improved yield and quality of tubers compared to not subsoiling. Averaged over all treatments, HiLite was the lowest yielding cultivar and had the least U.S. No. 1 and the most undersize tubers. Norkotah had the most U.S. No. 1 and the fewest undersize tubers.