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... However, some researchers have highlighted limitations associated with the use of manure in organic agriculture, particularly in optimizing multiple nutrients for potato crop nutrition [28]. The yield gap between organic and conventional potato systems associated with fertilization seems mainly due to the lower supply/availability of N from FYM compared with NPK mineral fertilizers [29]. Rempelos et al. [30] supported these results by the finding of lower leaf chlorophyll and tuber N content in FYM-fertilized potato crops, although results suggest that K was the main macronutrient limiting yield. ...
... In a field experiment by Tein et al. [29], potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) was part of a fivecrop rotation in which red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), peas (Pisum sativum L.), potato and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) followed each other simultaneously on the same field. The field experiment was performed with six different farming systems as follows: two organic and four conventional. ...
... However, the other organic system, involving green manure and composted cattle manure, significantly increased the average soil organic carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) concentrations after potato cultivation, whereas the conventional system that received mineral nitrogen fertilizers showed fluctuations in soil nitrogen (N) total concentration, average soil organic C and P concentrations, the soil pH and potassium after potato cultivation and magnesium (Mg) concentrations in relation to N dose of fertilizer. Tein et al. [29] reported that integrating potatoes into a three-year crop rotation experiment with red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), peas (Pisum sativum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was beneficial also for potato quality. Indeed, the average P concentrations were higher in organic potato tubers compared to other systems, while the Mg content in organic tubers was surpassed only by the treatment involving organic farming systems supplemented with fully composted cattle manure. ...
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Organic farming is a comprehensive production management system that fosters and improves the health of agroecosystems, encompassing biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a crucial crop in organic farming systems, standing out as one of the most highly demanded organic products on the market. Among all crops, with potatoes, there is a very large yield gap between organic and conventional systems, attributable mainly to its intensive nutrient demands. The present review, considering the most relevant scientific literature worldwide, discusses the contemporary state of knowledge on crop nutrition and soil fertility management in organic potato crop production, analyzing the effects of animal manures, green manures, organic amendments, and biostimulants on organic potato tuber yield and quality. Overall, the main findings show a particular combination is needed to effectively maintain good soil fertility, satisfy the nutritional needs of the crop, and overcome the difference in potato yield between organic and conventional farming methods while meeting consumer demand. This combination entails using an animal manure or leguminous green manure with an organic soil amendment, and even better with a biofertilizer, such as a mycorrhizae-fungus-based one. It also emerged that more targeted studies are needed to select appropriate cultivars for organic potato farming systems to optimize this environmentally friendly production method.
... To guarantee the sustainable human development means being able to feed the planet with an increasing population which is predicted to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 [2]. Although, since 2000, GHG emissions have been growing in all sectors, except in agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors, still the agriculture has a key role in carbon storage in the soil and is one of the more impactful also found that organic systems have significantly lower yields than conventional ones [24]. On the other hand, some studies have shown no significant difference in the potato yield between organic and conventional treatments [24,25]. ...
... Although, since 2000, GHG emissions have been growing in all sectors, except in agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors, still the agriculture has a key role in carbon storage in the soil and is one of the more impactful also found that organic systems have significantly lower yields than conventional ones [24]. On the other hand, some studies have shown no significant difference in the potato yield between organic and conventional treatments [24,25]. Some studies highlight [23,26,27] that yields in organic farming fluctuate more and this makes it undesirable for farmers. ...
... This shows that crop quality parameters are not only influenced by weather conditions, but also by cropping systems. This finding is contrary to the results from similar trials [24,47], where the starch content was not influenced by farming system. ...
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For finding more sustainable cropping systems, this study on how the farming system influences the yield and quality of potato tubers was carried out with long-term crop rotation experiment. The long-term five-field crop rotation field trial was established with the following farming system treatments: organic farming system treatments: Org I (organic control), Org II (organic crop rotation with winter cover crops) and Org III (organic crop rotation with winter cover crops and the addition of composted cattle manure); conventional farming system treatments: N0 (conventional system without fertilizers), N50 (conventional system with fertilization, N50P25K95), N100 (conventional system, N100P25K95) and N150 (conventional system, N150P25K95). The average yield (based on 3 trial years) of conventional systems was 25% higher, compared to organic systems. However, in organic systems, the yield was the most stable. The most fluctuating cropping system was the most intensively managed N150. In each trial year, the yield differed statistically and it varied from 4.7 t ha−1 up to 10.9 t ha−1. Org I had the same dry matter yield as the N0 system, where chemicals were used, meaning that using chemicals for plant protection but no fertilizer for growth improvement had no positive effect. In each year, the yield in Org III system was similar to N50 system. Regarding the tubers per plant, there were no differences between farming systems but there was a significant difference between the trial years. The tubers in conventional systems had a lower starch content than the organic systems. It is possible to conclude that if cover crops and manure are used, organic farming practices provide just as good results as the conventional farming with low nitrogen level.
... El contenido de materia orgánica estimable fue 35% mayor en el suelo orgánico. Las aplicaciones de materiales orgánicos favorecen la reducción de la tasa de pérdida del N por una mayor estabilidad en el sistema (Tein et al. 2014, Reganold y Whatcher 2016. ...
... En cuanto al %C, %N, la relación C/N y el %MO de los suelos, no se observaron cambios con respecto a la condición inicial en ninguno de los 2 suelos, ya que se mantuvo la diferencia significativa encontrada al inicio entre el suelo convencional y el suelo orgánico, tal como se observa en el Cuadro 8. Mader et al. (2002), Tein et al. (2014) y Reganold y Whatcher (2016) han confirmado que los sistemas orgánicos presentan una fertilidad más estable que los convencionales, principalmente cuando han sido manejados varios años de esa forma, debido a la menor aplicación de insumos externos y a la incorporación de materia orgánica, esto permite que exista un alto nivel de ciclaje de los nutrimentos y por lo tanto una mayor estabilidad. Por otro lado, en los sistemas convencionales, los cultivos dependen de insumos externos adicionados al suelo en cada ciclo de cultivo y generalmente no asociados a prácticas culturales que reintegren materia orgánica al suelo (Cavigelli et al. 2008, Gliessman 2002, Leifeld et al. 2009). ...
... Al comparar la cantidad de nutrientes adicionados con cada sistema de fertilización (Cuadro 11) y el rendimiento alcanzado (Figura 1), es notable que en el suelo con manejo orgánico, la fertilización orgánica permitió una mejor eficiencia en el uso de los nutrimentos por parte del cultivo, ya que la cantidad agregada en este caso es mínima, comparada con la cantidad de nutrientes adicionados con la fertilización convencional. Este comportamiento en el rendimiento de la papa se puede atribuir a los beneficios que aporta la materia orgánica, ya que permite una liberación gradual de los nutrimentos en la solución del suelo (Muñoz y Lucero 2008), se comprueba así, que el ciclaje nutricional en un sistema orgánico estabilizado física, química y microbiológicamente va a favorecer el rendimiento de los cultivos, en este caso, de la papa (Soto 2001, Angoa 2012, Mena 2012, Tein et al. 2014). ...
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Se determinaron características bioquímicas de un Andisol de Zarcero, sometido por más de 20 años, al manejo orgánico y al convencional. Posteriormente se evaluó en ambos suelos el rendimiento de la papa en condiciones de invernadero, bajo los siguientes tratamientos: fertilización convencional, fertilización orgánica, fertilización convencional más solubilizadores de P y fertilización orgánica más solubilizadores de P y un testigo. Concluido el ciclo de la papa, se cultivó maíz para evaluar el efecto residual de los diferentes tipos de fertilización. El suelo orgánico presentó 54% más C orgánico, la acidez fue muy baja (0,16 cmol(+).l-1) y el pH alcanzó la neutralidad (6,3), mientras que para el suelo convencional los valores fueron de 1,4 cmol(+).l-1 y 5. Los contenidos de Ca y Mg en el suelo orgánico cuadriplicaron los valores del suelo convencional, por lo que la CEC se duplicó. El suelo convencional presentó desbalances en todas las relaciones, mientras que el suelo orgánico en la relación Ca/Mg. Los valores de C y N totales fueron inferiores en el suelo convencional, y la relación C/N fue similar. El P en las 2 condiciones fue alto, en el suelo convencional se relacionó con las fertilizaciones químicas, mientras que en el suelo orgánico a las fuentes minerales y orgánicas. Los valores de Cu, Fe y Mn fueron menores en el suelo orgánico. La cantidad de UFC.gr-1 de actinomicetes y bacterias fue menor en uno y 2 órdenes de magnitud en el suelo convencional, mientras la tasa de respiración fue mayor. En el suelo con manejo convencional, la fertilización convencional más solubilizadores de P generó el mayor rendimiento de tubérculos. En el suelo con manejo orgánico, la fertilización convencional y la orgánica presentaron el mayor rendimiento sin diferencia significativa entre ellos. Además, el suelo convencional con fertilización convencional y el suelo orgánico con fertilización orgánica obtuvieron rendimientos similares. La fertilización convencional ocasionó una mayor residualidad en ambos suelos.
... On the one hand, the lack of any fertilization, mineral or organic, and/or cover crops, negatively affected the control system (Table 2). In addition, the relative low crop yield recorded in the system during the period from 2009 to 2011 (Tein et al., 2014) poorly contributed to maintenance of the SOC pool in the soil. Other shortterm experiments similarly showed a quick decline in soil organic carbon after a few years without any extra organic matter amendments (Liu et al., 2007). ...
... The direct impact on soil physical properties derived from NPK fertilizers is hard to demonstrate (Głąb, 2014); however, previous studies have reported a positive response of SOC to the addition of chemical fertilizers in combination with crop rotation (Liu et al., 2007), mostly connected with higher crop yields. In the conventional II system during the period 2009-2011, Tein et al. (2014) found 45 to 55% higher potato yields than in the same plots under organic management, and on average, conventional systems exhibited a 80% higher yield than the organic ones. This corresponds to a bigger amount of crop residues incorporated into the soil, which in turn suggests a SOC source in the system that remains unaltered for a longer period due to the lower number of tillage operations carried out in the conventional systems. ...
... Different capital letter indicates significant yearly (2010,2011,2012) differences (t-test, p < 0.05) within the same system (conventional I, conventional II, organic I, organic II) at the three studied depths: (Fig. 1). However, in the same field experiment, Tein et al. (2014) studied the crop yield response to four fertilization levels. The differences in yield found among the systems seem to be connected with the presence/absence of mineral fertilizers and not with problems derived from compaction. ...
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For testing how cover crops and different fertilization managements affect the soil physical properties in a plough based tillage system, a five-year crop rotation experiment (field pea, white potato, common barley undersown with red clover, red clover, and winter wheat) was set. The rotation was managed under four different farming systems: two conventional: with and without mineral fertilizers and two organic, both with winter cover crops (later ploughed and used as green manure) and one where cattle manure was added yearly. The measurements conducted were penetration resistance, soil water content, porosity, water permeability, and organic carbon. Yearly variations were linked to the number of tillage operations, and a cumulative effect of soil organic carbon in the soil as a result of the different fertilization amendments, organic or mineral. All the systems showed similar tendencies along the three years of study and differences were only found between the control and the other systems. Mineral fertilizers enhanced the overall physical soil conditions due to the higher yield in the system. In the organic systems, cover crops and cattle manure did not have a significant effect on soil physical properties in comparison with the conventional ones, which were kept bare during the winter period. The extra organic matter boosted the positive effect of crop rotation, but the higher number of tillage operations in both organic systems counteracted this effect to a greater or lesser extent.
... Thus, this study was conducted with the aim to compare conventional and organic farming systems under the same five-crop rotation in order to identify systems that would ensure high quality tubers with low incidence of disease. This paper is part of the larger overall study in which the effects of farming systems is investigated on the other rotation crops as well as on soil health and weed populations (Alaru et al. 2014;Runno-Paurson et al. 2014Tein et al. 2014;Kauer et al. 2015;Madsen et al. 2015). ...
... In 2008, an experiment in crop rotation with four conventional and two organic farming systems was established at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, on the experimental fields in Eerika (58°22′N, 26°40′E), located near Tartu, Estonia. A more detailed description of this experiment is presented in Tein et al. (2014). There were four replications in each farming system (each plot 60 m 2 ). ...
... One of the reasons for this proposed by Moore et al. (2011) is that manure used on the fields provides optimal conditions for common scab development by altering the soil's pH level. According to the study by Tein et al. (2014), which is based on the same exact experiment, it was found that the use of cattle manure had an increasing effect on soil pH and the use of ammonium nitrate in a N average system, as the source of extra nitrogen for potatoes, had a significant decreasing effect on soil pH. The same trend occurred also in other mineral fertilized systems. ...
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A study was conducted which aimed to investigate the effect of farming systems (FS) (four conventional with increasing mineral N fertilizer amounts 0–150 kg of N ha−1) vs. two organic with catch crops (CC) and cattle manure (CC + M)) under the same five crop rotation system on the occurrence of tuber diseases such as common scab (Streptomyces spp.), silver scurf (Helminthosporium solani), dry rot (Fusarium spp.), and soft rot (Pectobacterium spp.). As the average of the first rotation years 2009–2011, the FS had a significant effect on the occurrence of silver scurf, dry rot and common scab (surface cover <30 %). The organic systems had significantly more tubers (around 39 %) infected with common scab (surface cover 4–15 %) than in conventional systems (around 25 %). However, when the surface lesion severity increased (surface cover 16–30 %) then differences occurred only between organic systems (in system Organic CC 4.1 % and in system Organic CC + M 13.1 % of tubers infected). The Organic CC system had significantly fewer tubers infected with silver scurf compared to all conventional farming systems (10.5 % vs 17.8–23.4 %). During the first and after the second disease measurement there were less tubers infected with dry rot in Organic CC (0.8–0.9 %) and conventional N high (0.5–1.4 %) systems compared to N low (1.8–3.0 % of tubers infected) system. Soft rot infections were not influenced by farming systems. Thus we conclude that it is possible to influence the occurrence of some tuber diseases with FS.
... The SC of genotypes decreased significantly in integrated farming with increased N fertilisation in both experimental years (Table 4). Higher SC in potatoes grown under organic farming compared to integrated farming was found in a previous research (Hajŝlová et al., 2005), but several studies reported no significant difference between farming systems (Maggio et al., 2008;Brazinskiene et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014) or higher SC under conventional or integrated farming . In previous studies (Vos, 1995;Ruža et al., 2013;Tein et al., 2014;Tiemens-Hulscher et al., 2014;Koch et al., 2020;Naumann et al., 2020), additional available soil N was found to promote excessive stolon and leaf development directing DM flow to other parts of the plant than the potato tubers, delaying leaf maturation and tuber bulking periods. ...
... Higher SC in potatoes grown under organic farming compared to integrated farming was found in a previous research (Hajŝlová et al., 2005), but several studies reported no significant difference between farming systems (Maggio et al., 2008;Brazinskiene et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014) or higher SC under conventional or integrated farming . In previous studies (Vos, 1995;Ruža et al., 2013;Tein et al., 2014;Tiemens-Hulscher et al., 2014;Koch et al., 2020;Naumann et al., 2020), additional available soil N was found to promote excessive stolon and leaf development directing DM flow to other parts of the plant than the potato tubers, delaying leaf maturation and tuber bulking periods. As a result, TY and DM content were reduced. ...
... p < 0.001; N = 240), which likely outweighed the dispersing effects of clay particles. Compared to the other crops, the lowest K A content, found under potato, was due to the known fact that this crop has a high potassium requirement [46], and therefore, a great amount of K A was removed from the soil along with the potato tubers [46]. The second-lowest K A content, which occurred under with red clover, could also be associated with the highest dry mass yields (data not presented) among the crops, by which large quantities of potassium were removed; however, the difference in this case was that the harvested biomass yields were returned and left on the plots to decompose, through which the potassium was slowly released back into the soil. ...
... p < 0.001; N = 240), which likely outweighed the dispersing effects of clay particles. Compared to the other crops, the lowest K A content, found under potato, was due to the known fact that this crop has a high potassium requirement [46], and therefore, a great amount of K A was removed from the soil along with the potato tubers [46]. The second-lowest K A content, which occurred under with red clover, could also be associated with the highest dry mass yields (data not presented) among the crops, by which large quantities of potassium were removed; however, the difference in this case was that the harvested biomass yields were returned and left on the plots to decompose, through which the potassium was slowly released back into the soil. ...
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The stability of the soil aggregates is an important soil quality indicator, as it affects the soil’s overall functionality. As the soil aggregates are highly affected by agricultural practices, it is essential to know how crops interact with the aggregation process. Therefore, for obtaining more knowledge, this research was conducted in Estonia in an organic crop rotation field experiment from 2012/2013 through 2015/2016 to study the effects of crops (potato → spring barley undersown with red clover → red clover → winter wheat → pea) under different treatments (TC—control; TW—winter cover crops; TW+M—TW with farmyard manure 40 Mg ha−1 per crop rotation). The results showed that in the topsoil (5–10 cm), the soil water-stable aggregate (WSA) content (determined by the wet sieving method) from highest to lowest was following: pea (61.7%), winter wheat (61.6%), spring barley (61.5%), red clover (59.3%), potato (57.1%); whereas in the subsoil (30–35 cm): potato (50.6%), pea (48.5%), red clover (47.9%), spring barley (47.7%), winter wheat (46.4%). Therefore, potato was a noticeable crop, as among the crops, it had the lowest WSA content in the topsoil, while highest in the subsoil. The results shown gave an assumption that the after-effects of some crops (foremost with pea) were noticeable in the soil properties during the following crop. In the topsoil, the differences between crops were significant among crops just for TW and TW+M treatments. In TW, potato was lower than spring barley and winter wheat, but not significantly lower than pea or red clover. In the subsoil, significant differences between crops were observed for TC and TW treatments: in TC, potato was just significantly greater than red clover (but similar to other crops), and in TW, significantly greater than winter wheat. Furthermore, in the topsoil the soil organic carbon (SOC) content was not significantly affected by crops, and the use of winter cover crops generally increased the SOC content while concurrently decreased the WSA content and the soil maximum water holding capacity. This was probably caused by the additional tillage operations which cancelled out the possible benefits for the soil aggregates. As a consequence of the constantly declining SOC content, caused by the weakened soil aggregates, the plant-available P and K contents, especially in the absence of manure applications, decreased as well, probably due to the combination of fixation and removal of plant biomass. Therefore, it is expected that by continuing this trend, the plant growing conditions decline, which in turn will have a negative effect for the aggregate formation and carbon sequestration, which are essential for plant growth.
... Due to its shallow root-system, potato needs a fair supply of nutrient inputs to maintain its tuber vigor and yield (Alva et al., 2011). Research has shown the influence of different farming practices on tuber quality parameters like tuber dry mass accumulation, enhanced nutrient/mineral concentration and yield improvements (Brazinskiene et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014;Nyiraneza et al., 2015). Through adopting a potato-legume crop rotation, (Qin et al., 2017) observed a positive influence on soil microbiota coupled with significantly improved tuber yield up to 19% when compared with the continuous cultivation of potato crop only. ...
... Through adopting a potato-legume crop rotation, (Qin et al., 2017) observed a positive influence on soil microbiota coupled with significantly improved tuber yield up to 19% when compared with the continuous cultivation of potato crop only. Integrated crop rotations with an exogenous supply of organic and mineral [nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K)] fertilizers significantly influenced potato tuber N, nitrate, magnesium (Mg) and P concentrations when compared with non-fertilized controls (Tein et al., 2014). Leonel et al. (2017) analyzed five potato cultivars for their tuber chemical composition in response to different concentrations of available P supplemented with uniform cultural practices. ...
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The first decade of genetic engineering primarily focused on quantitative crop improvement. With the advances in technology, the focus of agricultural biotechnology has shifted toward both quantitative and qualitative crop improvement, to deal with the challenges of food security and nutrition. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a solanaceous food crop having potential to feed the populating world. It can provide more carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, and vitamins per unit area of land as compared to other potential food crops, and is the major staple food in many developing countries. These aspects have driven the scientific attention to engineer potato for nutrition improvement, keeping the yield unaffected. Several studies have shown the improved nutritional value of potato tubers, for example by enhancing Amaranth Albumin-1 seed protein content, vitamin C content, β-carotene level, triacylglycerol, tuber methionine content, and amylose content, etc. Removal of anti-nutritional compounds like steroidal glycoalkaloids, acrylamide and food toxins is another research priority for scientists and breeders to improve potato tuber quality. Trait improvement using genetic engineering mostly involved the generation of transgenic products. The commercialization of these engineered products has been a challenge due to consumer preference and regulatory/ethical restrictions. In this context, new breeding technolgies like TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nucleases) and CRISPR/Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated 9) have been employed to generate transgene-free products in a more precise, prompt and effective way. Moreover, the availability of potato genome sequence and efficient potato transformation systems have remarkably facilitated potato genetic engineering. Here we summarize the potato trait improvement and potential application of new breeding technologies (NBTs) to genetically improve the overall agronomic profile of potato.
... The Brazilian production of potato, Solanum tuberosum, is one of the largest in the world (Amado et al., 2014, Brazinskiene et al., 2014 with an area of about 130,000 ha and a production of three million tons (FAO, 2013). This plant has a relatively shallow root system (Neumann et al., 2012) requiring large inputs of nutrients, especially nitrogen, to maintain productivity and tuber quality (Tein et al., 2014). ...
... The greater dry matter accumulation in potato tubers with green manure is due to nitrogen and availability of other elements such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, boron, manganese and zinc in green manure, absorbed and allocated as dry matter in the potato tubers (Soratto et al., 2012;Rembialkowska et al., 2007). However, the lower dry matter accumulation in tubers of the plant with mineral fertilizer is due to the negative correlation with nitrogen (Roinilla et al., 2003); larger quantities of mineral nitrogen enhance the growth of the tuber, but with lower concentrations of dry matter and starch (Tein et al., 2014). Additionally, leaf growth is reduced and premature defoliation occurs with low nitrogen, which reduces the translocation of assimilates to the tubers, and consequently their dry matter (Goffart et al., 2008). ...
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Growth patterns and distribution of dry matter in different parts of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum, Solanaceae) with green manure can be positively influenced by the use of green manure. The aim was to evaluate the dry matter accumulation and pro-ductivity of potato with varying quantities of sunn hemp, Crotalaria juncea (Fabaceae) as a nitrogen source. The experiment used three different amounts of sunn hemp, equivalent to 100, 200 and 400 Kg ha-1 nitrogen (N), the recommended mineral N dose (250 Kg ha-1), and a treatment with zero N. Sampling was carried out at 35, 50, 65 and 80 days after planting, representing the subplots. The treatments were arranged in a randomized block design with split plot, the plot were enlarged fertilization and the small plot sampling dates. Four replications were used. Dry matter accumulation in the shoots of potato was greater with sunn hemp than with mineral nitrogen. The accumulation of dry matter in tubers and in the whole plant increased over time at higher rates of sunn hemp than with mineral fertilizer. Commercial and total potato productivity increased with sunn hemp quantity. Green manure at higher rates (400 and 200 Kg ha-1) increased the accumulation of dry matter in potato aboveground parts and in tubers. The commercial productivity of potato was 24% greater with green manure than with mineral fertilizers, indicating the potential of sunn hemp to provide adequate quantities of nitrogen for the growth and development of this crop.
... In the last decades, some works have suggested that a timely inspection of the available soil resource could help in the phenological prediction of crops, especially those that fruit below ground, as is the case of S. tuberosum (Antonio, 2022;Flores-Magdaleno et al., 2014). Although the development of robots has partially facilitated some processes, such as planting, harvesting, irrigation, and weeding in S. tuberosum crops, little has been explored in relation to the implications that could lead to a robot inspector of the available soil resource and its potential impact on the mitigation of the problems (Tein et al., 2014;Oviedo-Chávez et al., 2023). ...
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In recent years, the development of robots for agro-industrial applications, such as the cultivation of Solanum tuberosum potatoes, has aroused the interest of the academic and scientific communities. This is due, at least in part, to the complexity of modeling and robustly controlling some dynamics inherent to nonlinear behaviors normally attributed to the different technologies associated with the movement of these autonomous vehicles and their non-holonomic constraints. The different nonlinear dynamics of mobile robots are usually represented by state-space models. However, given some equilibrium and stability characteristics, the implementation of effective controllers for the robust parametric tracking and variation problem requires techniques that allow the operability of robots around regions of stable equilibrium. Feedback linearization control is one such technique that attempts to mathematically eliminate nonlinear expressions from the plant model. However, this technique requires an observable and controllable mathematical model. If there is some relationship between the model inputs and a controlled output that allows the relative degree of the control law to be determined, the controller design and implementation are posed as a linear issue. Flat filters developed from the generalized proportional integral control approach are an alternative that could facilitate the design of controllers for these linearized systems. From these flat filters, it is possible to obtain the transfer function of a controller without relying on the derivatives of the system output. This work proposes the design of a controller via exact linearization and its equivalent flat filter for a robot inspector of the soil resource of S. tuberosum crops in the department of Cundinamarca, Colombia. The actuator motion constraints resulted in a robot with two degrees of mobility and one non-holonomic constraint. Numerical validation of this system suggests that it can be an effective solution to the problem of tracking control at changing references by providing a system capable of navigating through crop rows. The results suggest correct tracking for linear and circular trajectories. However, the control lacks the ability to track spiral-type trajectories.
... Crop nutrient management was reported to have different effects on Mg. As showed, it can affect Mg more than K [194], while another study found little effect of fertilizer on Mg. In addition to the minerals discussed above, some other minerals in potato were also examined [195][196][197]. ...
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has gradually become a stable food worldwide since it can be a practical nutritional supplement and antioxidant as well as an energy provider for human beings. Financially and nutritionally, the cultivation and utility of potatoes is worthy of attention from the world. Exploring the functionality and maximizing the utilization of its component parts as well as developing new products based on the potato is still an ongoing issue. To maximize the benefits of potato and induce new high-value products while avoiding unfavorable properties of the crop has been a growing trend in food and medical areas. This review intends to summarize the factors that influence changes in the key functional components of potatoes and to discuss the focus of referenced literature which may require further research efforts. Next, it summarizes the application of the latest commercial products and potential value of components existing in potato. In particular, there are several main tasks for future potato research: preparing starchy foods for special groups of people and developing fiber-rich products to supply dietary fiber intake, manufacturing bio-friendly and specific design films/coatings in the packaging industry, extracting bioactive proteins and potato protease inhibitors with high biological activity, and continuing to build and examine the health benefits of new commercial products based on potato protein. Notably, preservation methods play a key role in the phytochemical content left in foods, and potato performs superiorly to many common vegetables when meeting the demands of daily mineral intake and alleviating mineral deficiencies.
... However, the availability of manure is not only explained by the population of livestock, rather the feeding skills and waste management experiences of the community. Fluctuations in the starch and dry matter contents of potato tubers produced with farmyard manure were less pronounced than those of potatoes cultivated without farmyard manure (Tein et al., 2014). According to scenarios on the effects of organic manure, high-efficiency organic fertilizers can increase tuber yield without depleting soil quality, making their application a means of supporting both long-term food security and environmental preservation. ...
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the main tuber crops that contribute to global food security. Fertilizer is an important input for potato production. However, potato productivity is still constrained by soil depletion. Unfortunately, research done on the rate of organic manure and nitrogen fertilizer on potato production are very limited. This review scrutinizes the gaps of organic manure and nitrogen fertilizer rates on the yield and yield components of potato. For the cultivation of potatoes, smallholder farmers use various rates of nitrogen and organic manure fertilizers. Combined application of nitrogen and organic manure fertilizer improved potato growth parameters and yield components (tuber number, average tuber weight). Tuber quality components such as dry matter and starch contents are also influenced by the combined application of nitrogen and organic manure. With the addition of high amount of organic manure with a certain level of nitrogen, fertilizer also gave the highest volume of marketable and total tuber yield. Based on the report of research works done in different parts of the world at different periods, an average of 31 tons/ha of organic manure and 187.5 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer are the ideal combinations for the optimum yield of potato. Hence, in order to increase the quality and availability of organic manure, its production should be supported by technologies alike to inorganic fertilizer production. This will boost potato yield, tuber quality, and maintain the soil health. The government should also due attention to the environment and sustainable development.
... Crop nutrient management was reported to have different effects on Mg. As showed it can affect Mg rather than K [201], while another study found little effect of fertilizer on Mg. In addition to the minerals discussed above, some other minerals in potato were also examined [202][203][204]. ...
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) gradually becomes a stable food worldwide since it can be treated as practical nutritional supplement and antioxidant, as well as energy provider for human beings. Financially and nutritionally, cultivation and utility of potatoes is worthy enough attention of the world. To further explore functionality and maximize utilization of component parts, also to develop new products based on potato still be an ongoing issue. To maximize the benefits of potato and induce new high-value products while avoiding unfavorable properties of the crop has been a growing trend in food and medical areas. This review intends to summarize the factors that influence the changes in the key functional components of potatoes and discuss referred research focuses, then help further researchers to make efforts into. Afterwards, it summarizes the application of the latest commercial products and potential value of components existing in potato. Particularly, there are several main tasks for the next potato research: preparing starchy foods for special group of people and developing fiber-rich products to supply the dietary fiber intake as well as manufacturing bio-friendly and specific design films/coating in packaging industry; extracting bioactive proteins and potato protease inhibitors with high biological activity, and continue to build new commercial products based on potato protein and examine their health benefits. Noteworthy, the preservation methods play a key role in phytochemicals contents left in foods and potato performs superior to many common vegetables when meeting demand of mineral daily intake and alleviating mineral deficiencies.
... Here we showed that, regardless of genotype and season, tuber dry matter content was higher under Org-than in Con-grown tubers (Table 4), which are in agreement with the results of other authors [7,13,31]. The higher N available in Con cultivation system presumably increases the size of the canopy during the early growth phase of the potato, which in turn diverts dry matter into the production of excess leaves and stem to the detriment of the tuber [32]. ...
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Understanding the nature of the perceived quality advantage of organically-grown early crop potatoes over conventionally-grown ones is of relevance given the expansion in demand for foodstuffs produced by environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The effect of the cultivation system (organic vs. conventional) on physicochemical (skin color, firmness, skin thickness, pH, titratable acidity), nutritional (dry matter, ascorbic acid, total phenolics content, antioxidant activity), and sensorial (for boiled and fried tubers) traits of early potatoes were explored in a field trial conducted during two-seasons in Sicily (Southern Italy) and involving five yellow-fleshed genotypes. The organic cultivation system, averaged across seasons and genotypes, produced tubers displaying a more attractive skin color, with higher skin thickness and firmness, higher dry matter content (19.0 vs. 17.9%), and total phenolics content (350 vs. 232 mg GAE 100 g−1 dry weight) but lower ascorbic acid content (76 vs. 103 mg 100 g−1 dry weight) and antioxidant activity (42 vs. 56% DPPH reduction). The organic cultivation did not affect attributes after boiling but improved all sensory attributes (crispness, typical taste, and browning degree) after frying, highlighting that the superiority of the organic potatoes does not cover all aspects of quality. The positive effects of organic cultivation on physicochemical, nutritional, and sensorial quality were particularly evident in Arinda, Ditta, and ISCI 4F88. Even if the response of organic cultivation on overall quality also depended upon seasonal conditions, cultivar choice plays a key role in optimizing this production system, highlighting the importance of breeding programs.
... The soils of organic farms (particularly of farms that have been under organic management for several years) have a more balanced below-ground microbial community with a well-established microenvironment [42][43][44], so it is also presumed that the rich micro-environment had a strong effect on the effectiveness of the tested bioeffectors [25]. ...
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Rhizobacteria-based technologies may constitute a viable option for biological fertilization and crop protection. The effects of two microbial inoculants (1) PPS: Pseudomonas protegens, P. jessenii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia biocontrol bacterium strains and (2) TPB: Trichoderma atroviride, Pseudomonas putida, and Bacillus subtilis fungi, bacteria biocontrol, and biofertilizer combinations were examined on potato (Solanum tuberosum L. var. Demon) in three consecutive years in irrigated organic conditions. The number of tubers showing symptoms of Streptomyces sp. and Rhizoctonia sp. was recorded. The severity of symptoms was evaluated based on the damaged tuber surface. There was a large annual variability in both the symptoms caused by soil-borne pathogens, and the effect of bio-inoculants. In the first and second year, with a stronger Rhizoctonia and Streptomyces spp. incidence, the bacterial and fungal combination of TPB inoculums with both the potential plant nutrition and biocontrol ability of the strains seemed to have a better efficiency to control the diseases. This tendency was not supported in the third year, and this may be attributed to the relatively high natural precipitation. Further studies are required to investigate the agronomic benefits of these inoculants and to tailor their application to the soil microbial characteristics and weather conditions.
... This again points towards potential water stress effects as dry matter content of potato tubers tends to increase under water-limited conditions (Heuer and Nadler, 1995;Sharma et al., 2011), since water stress promotes accumulation of assimilates in the tubers (Munns and Pearson 1974). It was also reported that larger potato tubers may result in lower dry matter and starch contents compared to smaller tubers (Tein et al., 2014), and the average tuber size was lower for RT compared to ST. ...
... Decreased diversity in control treatments N0 was expected and could be ascribed to low nutrient concentration combined with the presence of pesticides and herbicides. Previous studies focusing on potato in the same field trial has shown that N0 and N3 were the most soil exhausting systems, which could also explain the differences in our study (Tein et al., 2014). Soil fungal community composition and diversity is related to soil properties such as pH value, which in turn are altered by different fertilization regimes . ...
Article
Food systems need to become more sustainable. There is a need to investigate the agricultural management components that address the sustainability better. Long crop rotations are suggested to be environmentally friendly, yet, little is known how soil microbial communities may be affected by long-term rotation under organic cropping with cover crops and manure and conventional cropping with different nitrogen rates. We examined the composition and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities in a five-field crop rotation at the beginning and end, respectively in 2013 and 2018. Our analysis revealed that bacterial and to a lesser extent fungal diversity increased by the end of the rotation in all organic treatments and in conventional treatments with low to medium nitrogen rate (20‐100 kg of nitrogen per hectare). Conventional treatment with no added nitrogen decreased bacterial and fungal diversity. Nitrogen rate of 150 kg/ha decreased only bacterial diversity, while the impact on fungal diversity was neutral. Crop rotation significantly increased the relative abundance of bacterial taxa involved in nitrification and denitrification. Of fungal functional groups, the relative abundance of pathogenic functional groups decreased and mycorrhizal groups increased during crop rotation and especially with added cover crops. Our results suggest that crop rotation may outperform cropping systems in structuring soil microbial communities.
... The peel and the bulk potato grown under organic system had the lowest contents of starch with 22.7% and 65.2%, respectively. Tein et al. [197] indicated that crop growth and development under conventional system are improved by extensive application of pesticides and fertilizers while under the organic system, the use of synthetic fertilizer and pesticides are not allowed. Lombardo et al. [14] reported that the low starch content of potato tubers grown under organic systems is due to the auto-consumption of part of the starch by the plant for its growth and development since no fertilizers are applied [161]. ...
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: Interest in organic foods is increasing at a moment when humanity is facing a range of health challenges including the concern that some conventionally produced foods may pose possible adverse effects on human and livestock health. With the increasing human population, intensive production is increasingly trending towards high-input systems that aim to close yield gaps, increase crop yields, and develop new crop varieties with higher yield potential and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, all within the context of incorporating specific traits to satisfy consumer demand. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most consumed foods under different cultural diets, however its production faces some challenges related to soilborne diseases, marketable yield and quality, sugars and dry matter content of the produced tubers, tuber content in terms of nitrate, minerals, vitamins, bioactive compounds and antioxidants, and consumer appreciation regarding the sensory characteristics of tubers and processed products. Different studies have been investigating some of these challenges, with sometimes straightforward and sometimes conflicting results. This variability in re-search results indicates the general non-transferability of the results from one location to another under the same management practices in addition to differences in plant material. This review compares some characteristics of raw or boiled potato and processed products from potato tubers grown organically and conventionally. Ideally, such information may be of benefit in decision making by consumers in their dietary choices, by potato growers in their selection of crop management practices, and by scientists looking at potential areas for future research on potatoes.
... During the last century, potato (S. tuberosum) has become a worldwide elementary staple food due to higher nutritional value as a carbohydrate source, storability and divergent uses. S. tuberosum is a species, which needs high potassium levels for development and growth (Kang et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014). At functional level, K + affects the quality characteristics of S. tuberosum. ...
Article
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Potassium (K+) is one of the vital macronutrients for the plant kingdom. It constitutes almost 10% of total plant biomass. Therefore, it is evident that K+ takes part in diverse biological processes throughout plant life. A number of molecular and functional studies have demonstrated the existence of a very organized system for K+ uptake and transport in model plants. However, very scanty information is available related to the potassium transport system in Solanum tuberosum. Current study involves genome wide identification, in silico characterization and expression analysis of K+ transport related genes in S. tuberosum. In this study, we identified 43 genes encoding transporters and channels involved in potassium transport. These genes were categorized on the basis of their conserved motifs and domain structure. There are twenty three potassium transorters (1 HKT, 4 KEAs and 18 KUP/HAK/KTs) and twenty channels (5 KCOs/TPKs and 15 Shakers). Chromosomal positioning of these genes showed that these genes are randomly spread over all the 12 chromosomes of S. tuberosum. The phylogenetic analysis showed that K+ transporters and channels in S. tuberosum are orthologous to genes that are in charge of K+ transport in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum. To validate the in silico data, we performed expression analysis of these genes under salinity stress. Some genes were differentially expressed in response to salt stress, which indicates the significance of these genes for stress response of S. tuberosum. Current study is the first insight into the potassium transport system in S. tuberosum and it will work as a baseline for functional analysis of these genes.
... Beside the fact that potato has a high water requirement, it also has a high nutrient demand (Tein et al., 2014). Potato yields can be increased with increasing nitrogen supply, up to 280 kg ha -1 . ...
Thesis
The cultivation of several plant species on the same area of land, at the same time, is called Agroforestry (AFS). In the less developed countries and the countries of the tropics and subtropics, AFS are the main form of land management. Reasons can be found in the low degree of mechanization and the low costs of labor. AFS used to be widespread in the industrial nations, too. Over the years, however, these traditional forms have been converted into highly efficient agricultural sites. Agricultural and forest production has been separated spatially. In Germany, this was mainly due to land consolidation, which resulted in large, uniform, and easy-to-farm fields. In recent years, however, this situation has been reconsidered. The positive environmental benefits and the aspect of biodiversity protection of agroforestry systems have been recognized. There are numerous ecological, economic, and social aspects, which make agroforestry attractive again. However, a competitive situation always arises when plants are cultivated together. In addition, there are multiple forms of AFS. Special attention must be paid to the planting of the woody, perennial component, as it remains on the field for several years. Against this background, this thesis deals with the possibilities of establishing the wood component in an AFS as a short rotation strip. Combinations of different tillage and weed management practices on willow growth and yield were tested. Furthermore, the influence of shade, which is listed as one of the three main influencing factors in AFS, is discussed. Agricultural crops behave differently, on shade casts by the woody component on the understory crop, depending on their need for light. To test this, maize was used as a shade-intolerant C4 plant, which reaches its light saturation close to maximum solar irradiance. In contrast, potato was tested as a more shade-tolerant C3 plant. Observations on growth, yield and quality should provide information on their suitability for cultivation under shady conditions in AFS. Various hypotheses were developed and examined for the purpose of testing. In the following, the most central research results will be briefly outlined. When establishing a short rotation coppice with willows, an adequate combination of soil tillage and weed management showed to be important for high yields, whereas the necessary weed management depends on the used soil tillage. Until today, there are no other recommendations for the establishment of a willow short-rotation coppice except ploughing in autumn, harrowing in spring and broad herbicide application. In the current discourse on biodiversity improvement and climate change, forms of reduced tillage (chisel plough + ley crop, no-till) with adapted herbicide-saving weed control (e.g. chemical treatment within the rows and mechanical treatment between the rows, or only mechanical weed control), were tested as alternatives that ensure successful SRC growth and, as a result, high yields while saving pesticides and fossil energy. When grown together, trees will shade the under-story agricultural crops. Some crops can deal better with this light reduction than others. Maize (Zea mays L.), as a plant with a high light saturation point, is already negatively influenced in its growth, the biomass, biogas, and methane yield, as well as the quality determining compounds (dry matter content, crude protein, crude ash) by low amounts of shade. While potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), known as shade-tolerant plants, can produce yields and qualities comparable to those of unshaded plants with lower levels of solar irradiance (caused by shading). It could be shown that it is possible to make a valuable contribution to biodiversity with AFS. By using adapted combinations of soil tillage and weed management systems, fossil fuels can be saved through reduced tillage. The use of chemical plant protection in the tree strips can be reduced by the sole application within the SRC strips or avoided altogether by mechanical weed control. In high-valuable timber systems there is usually no weed management necessary. Additionally, the trees strips offer a habitat and food basis for small vertebrates and some arthropods (hymenoptera, coleoptera, lepidoptera and diptera). The permanent planting of the strips reduces greenhouse gases and thus counteracts climate change. Influences of shade on crop yield and quality was only proven for plant-specific shade levels. In such AFS, the influence of shade usually only occurs in later tree ages (and crown thickness). Therefore, AFS are a valuable form of land management to reduce current environmental problems on a national and global scale, while adequate yields can be achieved at the same time.
... Increasing N input productivity while avoiding a consequent yield decline remains a perpetual challenge in sustainable-oriented agriculture (Tein et al. 2014). This goal may be achieved by genetic modifications through breeding, which, however, have so far proved inconsistent (Brown et al., 2013, Cicatelli et al., 2014Swain et al., 2014), or by improved agronomic practices (Haase et al., 2007;Westermann, 2005). ...
Article
The objectives of the present study were to assess and demonstrate the role of potassium fertilizer management on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and to select the most suitable set of NUE indicators. A series of six field experiments was conducted during 2009-2014. A principal trial factor was crop rotation (CR), potatoes - winter wheat - winter barley (1st CR/ lupine – cover crop/2nd CR). The experimental design was composed of four K rates (0, 80, 160, 240 kg K2O ha⁻¹) and two N rates (120, 160 kg N ha⁻¹). The marketable yield (MY) ranged from 20 to 49 Mg ha⁻¹. The amount of K in tubers at harvest (Ka) was significantly associated with the MY. Ka, largely governed by the interaction between CR and K rate, was also linked to Partial Factor Productivity of fertilizer nitrogen (PFPN) and Agronomic Nitrogen Efficiency (ANE). The results suggest that the K rate should be oriented to the realization of a specific production strategy, depending on environmental factors (water shortage), and N use efficiency. It was documented that increased Ka might be a crucial factor for controlling N productivity, subsequently decreasing its rates. At the optimum K fertilizer rate, N rates can be significantly reduced.
... This phenomenon may be associated with the higher and lower soil pH values, which may change the biological availability of nutrient elements needed by plants, leading to the malnourishment of some elements in plants [57,58]. Many researchers have concluded that soil pH has a significant effect on potato tuber quality [24,59]. Soil pH first affects soil microbial enzyme activity, which directly affects the absorption and utilization of soil nutrients by potato roots, and finally affects potato tuber quality. ...
Article
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Potato tuber quality is influenced by the interaction of soil nutrients. Hence, simple correlation analysis cannot accurately reflect the true relationship between soil nutrients and potato tuber quality. In this study, potato tuber quality and soil nutrient content were used as research materials in the Loess Plateau of China. The partial least square regression (PLSR) method was used to establish the regression equation between potato quality and soil nutrient. The major soil nutrient indexes influencing potato quality were screened out to provide theoretical basis for potato field management. The results showed that the major soil nutrient factors influencing the potato tuber quality in Loess Plateau were soil ammonium nitrogen, soil nitrate nitrogen, soil available phosphorus, pH, and soil available potassium. Soil pH value is the most important factor affecting potato starch, reducing sugar content, and soluble protein content. Soil nitrate nitrogen is one of the important factors affecting potato tuber soluble total sugar content, vitamin C, browning intensity, and polyphenol oxidase activity. Soil ammonium nitrogen was positively correlated with the total soluble sugar content of potato tubers, and negatively correlated with reducing sugar content, browning intensity, and polyphenol oxidase activity. However, soil available potassium has positive effects on potato starch and reducing sugar content, and negative effects on soluble protein and browning strength. Results of this study indicates that the major soil nutrient factors influencing potato tuber quality were soil nitrate nitrogen and soil pH value.
... 29 Tuber Nitrate Increasing the nitrate accumulation in potato tubers has also been reported by other researchers. [30][31][32] It is believed that using high amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers in the soil, will result in increasing the absorption of nitrate by roots. This is while its reduction and assimilation does not increase in the same proportion, which results in nitrate accumulation in the plant's tissues. ...
... High rates of crop phosphorus and potassium may cause residual contents of phosphorus and potassium for the subsequent crops [65,66], which must be considered in practice. On the contrary, Tein et al. [67] stated that potassium content in potato tuber was not affected by nitrogen applications. ...
Article
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Two field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of three drip irrigation regimes (G 1 : 120% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), G 2 : 100% ETc, and G 3 : 80% ETc) and four nitrogen (N) source treatments (S 0 : non-fertilized; S 1 : urea, S 2 : ammonium nitrate, and S 3 : ammonium sulfate on water consumption use, water utilization efficiency, chlorophyll, yield and tubers quality of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.; cv Diamond) under a drip irrigation system during two successive winter seasons (2015/16 and 2016/17)). Nitrogen fertilization was applied at 380 kg ha −1 as standard application for potato in the investigated area. The highest tubers yield was obtained from potato grown with G the lowest tubers yield was obtained from potato grown with G 3 S 0 (10.1 Mg ha −1) and G 2 S 0 (17.4 Mg ha −1). Different treatments of N source resulted in a significant increase for water use efficiency (WU t E) compared with unfertilized treatment. For the interaction effect, the highest WU t E was obtained from potato grown with G 3 S 2 (18.1 kg m −3), followed by G 3 S 3 (17.6 kg m −3), while the lowest WU t E was obtained from plants grown with G 3 S 0 (3.0 kg m −3). However, the highest chlorophyll content was obtained from plants grown with G1 and any N source, followed by G 2 S 1-3 , while the lowest chlorophyll content was obtained from those grown with G 3 S 0. The highest N, S, protein, and P contents in tubers were obtained from plants grown with G 3 S 3, G 3 S 2 , and G 2 S 2 , while the highest K content in tubers was obtained from plants grown with G 1 S 1 and G 1 S 2. In concussion, the integrative effects of G 1 or G 2 with S 2 or S 3 is recommended for high productivity, while the integrative effects of G 3 S 3 and G 3 S 2 are recommended for high quality tubers.
... The authors attributed this to differences in rainfall amount. Westermann (2005) and Tein et al. (2014) observed that nutrient uptake increases with rainfall, and this could explain the observed low P use efficiency in our study in 2014 short rains, which received only 380 mm of rainfall compared to a minimum of 500 mm required by potato for optimal performance as reported by Sood and Singh (2003) and Ierna and Mauromicale (2012). Generally, in this season, P uptake was very low leading to P partial factor productivity values that were below 50%. ...
Article
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Phosphorus (P) is an essential element and its efficient use is of global importance. This study evaluated the effect of growing potato under leg-ume intercrops on P uptake and use efficiency indices: P harvest index (PHI), P uptake efficiency (PuPE), P partial factor productivity (PPFP) and P partial balance (PPB). The experiment was carried out for four consecutive seasons with treatments comprising potato cultivated under legume inter-crops: none (T1), dolichos (Lablab purpureus L) (T2), peas (Pisum sativum L) (T3) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L) (T4). Across the seasons, the mean haulm P uptake for T2 (6.7 kg P ha À1), T4 (5.5) and T3 (4.5) were 6%, 23% and 36% lower than that observed in T1 (7.1 kg P ha À1), respectively. On the other hand, tuber P uptake was highest in T1 (21.8 kg P ha À1) and T2 (21.3 kg P ha À1) and were significantly higher than 13.2 kg P ha À1 in T3 and 15.1 kg P ha À1 in T4. This had a profound effect on PuPE, which was equally highest in T1 (0.26 kg total P uptake kg À1 P supply) and T2 (0.25) and lowest in T3 (0.16) and T4 (0.18). Similarly, PPFP, PHI and PPB followed a similar trend, with highest values in T1 (57 kg tuber dry matter yield kg À1 P supply, 76.4 kg tuber P uptake kg À1 total plant's P uptake and 0.20 kg tuber P uptake kg À1 P supply, respectively). Among the tested leg-ume intercrops, dolichos competed least for P with the main crop (potato) hence it can be integrated into potato-based cropping systems without compromising potato tuber yield. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Potatoes, next to wheat, corn, and rice, became one of the top crops contributing to the world's food security [1,2]. Globally, the annual consumption of potatoes reaches around 34 kg per capita, with similar figures in both Americas, and above two times higher consumption (82 kg) in Europe [3]. ...
Article
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An organic agricultural system based on natural methods and means of production is an alternative to intensive agriculture. The available research suggests that organic crops, in comparison to the conventional ones, are richer in phenolics and other antioxidants while containing less undesirable pesticide residues and nitrates. The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of polyphenols, lutein, vitamin C, and nitrates in eight potato cultivars (Mazur, Justa, Lawenda, Lech, Tacja, Laskana, Otolia, Magnolia) grown organically and conventionally in a controlled field experiment in Poland. Significant differences between potato tubers of the tested cultivars coming from organic and conventional production were identified for the majority of parameters. Higher concentrations of nitrates and lutein were found in conventional compared to the organic tubers, while organic potatoes were, on average, richer in phenolic compounds. Among the tested cultivars, Magnolia, Otolia, and Laskara were richest in vitamin C and phenolics. Otolia and Laskara also accumulated the highest levels of nitrates. If further confirmed, these observations might be of importance for the producers and consumers, who increasingly search for foods from sustainable and well-controlled agricultural systems.
... Potato production co-exists with poverty and is more adaptable to resource-poor areas in China than other food crops. Regions benefiting from improved potato varieties, better field management techniques, and more favorable soil nutrient and climate conditions experienced great improvements in potato yield ( Bélanger et al., 2001;Moinuddin et al., 2006;Devaux et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014). ...
Article
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Excessive or imbalanced fertilization has not only decreased nutrient use efficiency, but also degraded arable land and posed a great threat to the environment. In this study, the datasets were collected from field experiments for the period 1992 to 2017 in the main potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production regions of China. We used the Quantitative Evaluation of the Fertility of Tropical Soils (QUEFTS) model to estimate the soil‐plant balanced N, P, and K requirements for the potato in China. Our results revealed that there were great differences in the potato yield and nutrient uptake. The upper and lower 2.5th percentiles of N, P, and K internal efficiencies (IE, kg tuber per kg nutrient in the total plant) data were used as maximum accumulation (a) and maximum dilution (d) boundary parameters in the QUEFTS model, which were 133 and 463 kg kg–1 for N, 652 and 3030 kg kg–1 for P, and 119 and 790 kg kg–1 for K, respectively. The QUEFTS model predicted plant nutrient uptake of 4.0 kg N, 0.7 kg P, and 3.5 kg K to produce 1 Mg of tuber in the linearly distributed portion, and a corresponding tuber nutrient demand of 2.9 kg N, 0.5 kg P, and 2.3 kg K to produce 1 Mg of tuber. Field validation experiments confirmed that the QUEFTS model could be used to simulate optimum nutrient uptake and provide appropriate parameters in building fertilizer recommendation, which helps improve nutrient use efficiency for potato in China. Core Ideas This is the first report of QUEFTS model on estimating the optimum nutrient requirements for potato crops in China. The datasets used in this study were collected from multi‐year‐site field experiments. Multi‐site field validation experiments in potato‐producing areas confirmed the feasibility of QUEFTS model‐simulated nutrient uptake.
... 1 期 徐亚新,等:我国马铃薯产量和化肥利用率区域特征研究 25 山西Shanxi (7) 湖北Hubei (2) 福建Fujian (5) 云南Yunnan ( 0~30 60~90 120~150 180~210 240~270 0~30 60~90 120~150 180~210 240~270 300~330 360~390 0~30 60~90 120~150 180~210 240~270 300~330 [7,53,[55][56] 。 产量反应的高低反映施肥增产效应和养分对产 量的限制作用 [17][18] ,不同地区作物施肥增产的差异与 气候条件、土壤类型、土壤质地、施肥水平和栽培 管理措施等因素有关 [19][20][57][58] 。我国马铃薯产量反应 平均值大小顺序为氮>磷>钾,表明氮素是马铃薯产 量的首要限制因子,这与已有的研究结果一 致 [18,59] 。研究表明,产量反应与相对产量呈现负线性 相关关系 [21][22] ...
Article
Large datasets were collected from field experiments on potato (Solanum tuberosumL.) to evaluate attainable yield, yield response, relative yield, and nutrient use efficiency parameters to N, P2O5 and K2O fertilizers added in different potato production regions of China. It aimed to provide a basis for potato. nutrient management strategies. The datasets were collected from 117 field experiments conducted by the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), China Program during 1992–2012 and 407 related journal papers from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database with the key words “potato”,“potato yield” and “potato efficiency” during 2000–2016 in different potato production regions of China. Potato production in China was divided into six geographic regions, i.e., Northeast (NE), Northwest (NW), Northcentral (NC), Middle and Lower Reaches of Yangtze River (MLYR), Southeast (SE), and Southwest (SW). The treatments consisted of an optimal treatment (OPT) and the treatments with omission of N, P2O5 or K2O (OPT-N, OPT-P, OPT-K). Attainable potato yields, yield responses (YRs), relative yields (RYs), agronomic efficiencies (AEs), partial factor productivities (PFPs), and recovery efficiencies (REs) were analyzed and discussed. The average YRs of N, P2O5 and K2O fertilizers were 8.6, 5.9 and 6.6 t/hm2, showing N was the most limited nutrient for potato yield in China. Among different regions, the average attainable yield and YR of N ranked first in NE region (P < 0.05). The average RYs of N, P2O5 and K2O were 71.0%, 79.4% and 77.2% respectively; the average RYs of N in NC, those of P2O5 in SE, those of K2O in NW were the highest across different regions. The N, P2O5 or K2O rates averaged by 164, 100 and 188 kg/hm2 across different regions, and the average N and K2O rates in SE region were shown to be the highest (P < 0.05), the average N and K2O rates in NE region were lower, the P2O5 rates in NE, SW and NW were higher across different regions with the lowest P2O5 rates in MLYR. The average AEs of N, P2O5 and K2O were 52.5, 58.5 and 42.3 kg/kg respectively, and AEs of N or K2O in NE were the highest (P < 0.05). The averaged PFPs of N, P2O5 and K2O were 205, 339 and 209 kg/kg respectively, and those of N or K2O in NE was the highest (P < 0.05). The REs of N, P2O5 or K2O averaged by 36.4%, 18.5% and 27.6%, and REs of P2O5 in SE were observed to be with the highest values (P < 0.05). There are great differences in tuber yields, fertilizer application rates, and fertilizer use efficiencies across different potato production areas in China. N is the most yield-limiting factor for potato in China, while NC, SE and NW showed high soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P and K, respectively. The optimal fertilization management of potato should be directed according to local conditions in different potato production areas.
... In a separate study, Mg levels in potatoes grown in the Pacific Northwest, Colorado and Texas revealing a range of 787 to 1089 μg/g DW; Broad sense heritabilities (H) were 0.57, 0, and 0.72 In the Tri-State and Western Regional russet skin trials, and the Red/Specialty trials, respectively . Crop nutrient management was reported to have no effect on K concentration, but did affect Mg (Tein et al. 2014). Another study found little effect of fertilizer on Mg (Allison et al. 2002). ...
Article
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As the link between diet and health becomes increasingly characterized, the nutritional value of foods is being increasingly prioritized by the public. This can create both challenges and opportunities for plant breeding programs and food processing companies. This review will focus on the nutritional composition of potatoes and examine the role potatoes can play in providing global food security. The amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in potatoes vary tremendously depending on the cultivar and are also influenced by environment. Potatoes are well known to be good sources of potassium and vitamin C. They also contain an array of other bioactives, including high amounts of phenylpropanoids, compounds known to have diverse health-promoting roles in humans. While potatoes already contain generous amounts of various phytonutrients, by taking advantage of the available extensive germplasm resources, future cultivars can be further improved and provide additional options that help satisfy rapidly evolving consumer preferences and changing market demands.
... Šrek et al. (2010) found over the course of a long-term cropping study that tuber yields were reduced when soil-available P (Mehlich III) levels dropped below 30 mg kg −1 . Across a five-year organic field crop rotation including potatoes in Estonia, Tein et al. (2014) found that K levels decreased after potato cultivation, even where catch crops were used unless composted beef manure (at 40 Mg ha −1 ) was applied. Compost also enhanced soil P concentrations. ...
Chapter
Organic potato cultivation requires a whole system perspective, with particular focus on rotation design. Producing organic potatoes relies strongly on indirect, preventive and long-term strategic measures for both plant nutrition and plant protection. This chapter examines all aspects of the process of cultivating organic potatoes, including rotation and diversification, breeding, seed potatoes, planting, tillage, weed control, nutrient management, soil fertility and irrigation. The chapter also describes the main diseases and pests of potatoes and organic methods of disease and pest regulation.
... and 78.1%, respectively), followed by the integral system (28.2% and 67.5%, respectively), while the lowest contents of starch were identified in the organic cropping system (22.7% and 65.2%, respectively) ( Fig. 2a, b). This is because the conventional cropping system requires extensive application of pesticides and fertilizers, which secures the development and growth of potato plants resulting in tubers of full maturity of increased dry matter content (Tein et al., 2014), which is mostly comprised of starch (66-80%) (Li et al., 2006). In the integral system, the amount of pesticides and fertilizers is reduced, while in organic cropping system their use is prohibited. ...
... In contrast to T. aestivum, S. tuberosum is a species requiring high K levels for growth and development, which is characteristic of tuber plants, due to the low efficiency of nutrient uptake, because of a relatively shallow root system (Kang et al. 2014;Tein et al. 2014;Zörb et al. 2014). Indeed, the K requirement is greater than that of N and P (Panagiotopoulos 1995;Westermann 2005). ...
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The potassium (K) role is very important for plants; indeed it is an essential macronutrient and has a several metabolic functions, and one of them is implicant on photosynthesis process, growth, and development and stress resistance under K deficiency. Although the K requirement changes during phenological plant stages and due to environmental factors, we, in an undifferentiated way, have put the focus specifically on the role of potassium in the Hill reaction and Calvin and Benson cycle of the photosynthesis. In the Hill reaction, the main role is associated with generation of NADPH and ATP, together with ionic equilibria, electron transport, and proton-motive force. In the Calvin and Benson cycle, the main role is associated with CO2 fixation and sugar production and transport and hence with partitioning of photoassimilates. Special attention, we have put in the regulation of photoassimilates and its distribution as future directions, because under K deficiency, the biosynthesis of sugar, transport, and distribution in the plant are limited. More studies at the molecular level are required to elucidate mechanisms and regulatory point that underlie of the complex network of biochemical relationships.
... The soils of organic farms (particularly of farms that have been under organic management for several years) have a more balanced below-ground microbial community with a well-established microenvironment [42][43][44], so it is also presumed that the rich micro-environment had a strong effect on the effectiveness of the tested bioeffectors [25]. ...
... These findings are in agreement with Zebarth et al. (2008) and Nyiraneza et al. (2017) who reported that P uptake varies from season to season due to differences in rainfall pattern. Thus, weather conditions greatly influence plant's ability to take up nutrients with low uptake occurring in seasons with inadequate rainfall as also observed by other studies (Westermann, 2005;Tein et al., 2014). ...
Article
Competition for nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) under potato-based intercropping systems decreases the level of nutrients available for potato and subsequently influences nitrogen and phosphorous use efficiency. A field trial was conducted for four consecutive seasons between 2014 short rains and 2016 long rains to assess the effect of incorporating legumes as intercrops into potato cropping systems on N and P uptake and uptake efficiency by the potato crop and nutrient use efficiency. The treatments included potato intercropped with either dolichos (Lablab purpureus L.) (PD), garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) (PG) or climbing bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) (PB), and a pure stand of potato (PS). Intercropping potato with beans and peas significantly reduced its N uptake by 22 and 27% relative to PS, but the N uptake was not affected under PD. Phosphorous uptake was 2, 8 and 11 kg P ha −1 lower in PD, PB and PG, respectively compared with PS. Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) was significantly higher in PD, PB and PG by 30, 19 and 9% compared with PS. Similarly, P use efficiency (PUE) was 6, 14 and 21% higher in PG, PB and PD, respectively than PS. The highest tuber yield recorded in PS (36 t ha −1) did not significantly differ from PD (34 t ha −1) whereas tuber yield was significantly lower in PB and PG as compared with PS. The study shows the great potential of dolichos as a promising intercrop that could be integrated into potato cropping systems without negatively affecting potato yield. Available: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Woij1M2tVDM3T
... Adaptation measures that are available for farmers to implement CSA include; conservation agriculture (CA), sustainable agriculture (SA), organic agriculture (OA), use of improved high yielding resistant varieties that can endure so many stresses (both biotic and abiotic) in the field ( Giller et al., 2009;Jansky, 2009;Akinwale et al., 2014;Tein et al., 2014). The decision as to which strategy to adopt remains a farmer's choice to make as per needs of his or her own farm. ...
Conference Paper
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ABSTRACT This literature review looks at the potential of climate-smart agriculture for smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. The new realities that climate presents mankind with currently require a more expedient cropping system to respond more swiftly to the dramatic changes noticeable and these changes are being felt already by farmers at various levels. In this paper, a scope of what is possible for a small-scale farmer to adopt and embrace this cropping model as the most appropriate way of farming is presented. The practices regarded as climate-smart include adaptation and mitigation techniques. The vast majority of adaptation practices that can be adopted by farmers include growing of varieties with resistance to numerous stresses (both abiotic and biotic), changing of planting periods, to name a few. Mitigation strategies involve conservation agriculture (CA) adoption, intercropping, organic farming (OF), etc. In this regard, CSA’s potential to revolutionize small-scale farms of the Sothern African region is so high to an extent that several countries have already formed allies in research targeted at finding synergies that could be devised to best implement CSA cropping systems. Furthermore, the study in its entirety aims at exhausting two of three main objectives of climate-smart agriculture. The aims are adaptation options that can be observed to craft the resilience to climate change and mitigation or eradication of greenhouse gases from the agricultural sector including forestry and fisheries. The study resolves that food security can be attained if and only if all various stakeholders concerned with climate change join forces to address this conundrum. Awareness of farmers about bizarre changes of the climate grips is a key to developing and adoption of new technologies for CSA. Thus, the study resolves that CSA’s holistic approach to farming is the foundation or cornerstone of ensuring crop productivity in light of the realities climate change is bringing to the fore. Keywords: Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), Smallholder Farmers, Adaptation, and Mitigation
... These findings are in agreement with Zebarth et al. (2008) and Nyiraneza et al. (2017) who reported that P uptake varies from season to season due to differences in rainfall pattern. Thus, weather conditions greatly influence plant's ability to take up nutrients with low uptake occurring in seasons with inadequate rainfall as also observed by other studies (Westermann, 2005;Tein et al., 2014). ...
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Integration of legumes into potato-based cropping systems is a common practice in developing countries presumably as a water and nutrient management strategy. This study was conducted to assess the effect of incorporating legumes into the potato production system on soil water conservation, economic returns, nutrients (N and P) use efficiency, and soil physical and chemical properties. Field-based trials were conducted for four consecutive seasons between 2014 short rains and 2016 long rains at the Field Station, University of Nairobi. The treatments comprised of; a pure stand of potato (PS), potato-dolichos (Lablab purpureus) (PD), potato-bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) (PB) and potato-garden pea (Pisum sativum) (PG) intercrops, which were laid out in a randomized complete block design with each treatment replicated four times. The generated data on ground cover, soil moisture content, yield, economic returns, nutrient uptake and use efficiency, and soil physical and chemical properties were analysed using generalized linear models (GLM) in R software version 2.2.3, while means were separated using Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) at (p ≤ 0.05). Pearson correlation analyses were applied to determine the relationship between the measured variables. The highest ground cover of 69% was recorded at tuber initiation stage (56 days after planting) in PD compared to 66% in PG and PB and 56% in PS. Similarly, the highest soil moisture content (SMC) values were recorded at tuber initiation stage: 230, 207, 201 and 188 mm m−1 for PD, PG, PB and PS, respectively with significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between treatments. Nutrient uptake by potato was significantly higher in PS and PD than in PB and PG, which was a reflection of tuber yield that followed the trend of PS (36 t ha−1) = PD (35) < PB (30) = PG (29). When tuber and legume grain yield were converted into potato equivalent yield (PEY), the intercropping systems outperformed the potato pure stand. For instance, PD had significantly (p ≤ 0.05) the highest economic returns of US$ 9,174 ha−1, nitrogen use efficiency of 43 kg PEY kg−1 N supply and phosphorous use efficiency of 169 kg PEY kg−1 P supply. After two years of potato-legume cultivation and incorporation of crop residues into the soil, soil physical and chemical properties at 0.3 m depth such as sand, silt and clay were only influenced by slope position with sand decreasing down the slope whereas, the opposite was observed for silt and clay. Bulk density (BD) was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) above the initial value (1.03 g cm−3) recorded before the start of the experiment and increased down the slope in all treatments with averages of 1.21, 1.14, 1.13 and 1.07 g cm–3 in PS, PB, PG and PD, respectively. PD recorded significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher pH (5.9), total nitrogen (3.7 g kg–1 N), organic carbon (37 g kg–1), available P (26 mg kg–1) and cation exchange capacity (34 cmolc kg−1) compared to all other intercropping systems. Sand and BD were inversely (r = 0.33–0.84; p ≤ 0.05) correlated with the soil chemical properties such as pH, P, N OC and CEC which in turn were directly (r = 0.38–0.49; p ≤ 0.001) correlated with clay. The data in this study indicate that intercropping potato with L. purpureus is a sustainable production practice that would ensure high tuber yield and improved soil fertility. To cite: Gitari, H.I., 2018. Potato-Legume Intercrop Effects on Water and Nutrients Use Efficiency, Crop Productivity and Soil Fertility in a Humic Nitisol, Kenya. PhD Thesis, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/11295/104126
... Some studies [25][26][27][28] reported a higher Ca content in organically as compared with conventionally grown vegetables. Other papers [29,30] reported no differences between organically and conventionally cultivated potatoes. In contrast, there were other studies [31] which evidenced that the accumulation of Ca under conventional farming conditions was higher as compared to organically grown vegetables. ...
Article
Two marker combinations were used for the differentiation of organically produced from conventionally produced potatoes and also for the geographical origin identification. Fifty-seven samples (from Romanian local producers or imported) were analysed from the stable isotopic (isotope ratio mass spectrometry) and elemental profile (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) point of view. In order to assess the best marker combination, both isotopic and elemental experimental results were subject to chemometric analysis. The statistical tests performed were ANOVA test, Pearson correlation, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). For a more comprehensive differentiation between organic vs. conventional potato samples, LDA was applied, and 94.7 % of original cases were correctly classified and the percentage obtained in cross-validation procedure was 91.2 %. Regarding the geographic origin classification, LDA provided an initial classification of 96.5 %, while for cross-validation the percentage was 87.7. LDA found δ¹⁵N, Cd, Ca, Cu and Zn as best discrimination markers between organically and conventionally grown potatoes. The strongest predictors for Romania vs. foreign geographical areas along LDA were seen to be Ca, P, Co, Ni and δ¹³C.
... Zarzecka and Gugała (2010) showed that the uptake of phosphorus and calcium by potato tuber yield was significantly higher in treatments with the traditional cultivation system than from the plots with reduced cultivation, and from the plots weeded chemically than from the ones where weeds were removed only mechanically. Tein et al. (2014) claim that all quality parameters of potato tubers are to some extent correlated In the consequence of transformations occurring during the storage of potato tubers, their content of mineral components increased (Table 3). The concentration of phosphorus increased to the highest degree in the first year of the experiment, while that of sodium and calcium rose the most in the second year. ...
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By stimulating life processes in plants, growth regulators enhance the plants' resistance to stress conditions, improve their health and contribute to higher and better quality yields. The purpose of this study has been to analyse the effect of biostimulators on the mineral composition of potato tubers. Four cultivars of edible potato were grown in a field experiment: very early cultivar Volumina and medium early ones Irga, Satina and Sylvana. From the BBCH 39 phase (crop cover complete), potatoes were treated three times, at 10-to 14-day intervals, with the biostimulators Asahi SL, Bio-Algeen S90 and Kelpak SL. Potatoes not treated with any biostimulator served as control. The content of minerals in potato tubers varied, depending on the weather conditions in each season, on the cultivars and on the applied growth stimulators. The concentrations of phosphorus and magnesium in tubers were higher in the first year, whereas the level of potassium was higher (by 22.8%) in the second year of the experiment. The growth stimulator Asahi SL increased the concentration of minerals in tubers, while Bio-Algeen S90 and Kelpak SL decreased their content. A higher concentration of macronutrients was determined in tubers of the cultivars Volumia and Sylvana. Following the transformations which occurred in potato tubers during their storage, their content of mineral components increased.
... For the month of May the temperatures were lowest in 2011 and highest in 2010. Over the entire season, 2010 was generally the warmest (Tein et al., 2014). The results were analyzed with Statistica 11, using ANOVA and Fisher LSD test. ...
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Field trials with the potato cultivars ‘Ants’ (medium late) and ‘Laura’ (medium early) were carried out on the experimental fields of the Department of Field Crops and Grassland Husbandry located at Eerika (58°22′ N, 26°40′ E), Estonian University of Life Sciences in 2010 and 2011. The yield of tubers and starch, marketable yield of potato, number of tubers per plant and tuber weight were studied. We used the following treatments: untreated control (To): seed tubers were planted directly from storage house (storage temperature 4°C); thermal shock (TS): seed tubers were kept before planting 5 days in a room with temperature of 30°C and 2 days with temperature of 12°C; pre-sprouting (PS): before planting the seed tubers were kept 26 days in a room with temperature of 15°C and 10 days with temperature of 12°C. The results are presented as the averages of studied years. According to the average results of two experimental years, the pre-planting treatment with thermal shock increased the number of tubers per plant of cultivar ‘Ants’ by 30.6%, compared to control treatment. None of the treatments had any effect on the number of tubers of cultivar ‘Laura’. The thermal treatment increased the average weight of tubers of cultivar ‘Laura’ compared to the control treatment (thermal shock by 14.7%, pre-sprouting by 20.7%), but for cultivar ‘Ants’ the weight of tubers was decreased by 16.7% (thermal shock treatment). The thermal shock treatment increased the tuber yield of cultivar ‘Ants’ by 10.7% and the pre-sprouting increased the total tuber yield of cultivar ‘Laura’ by 9.9%. The thermal shock increased significantly the starch content of cultivar ‘Ants’ and decreased that of cultivar ‘Laura’.
... but more recently cover crops are being used as an effective tool in organic weed management. Wortman et al. (2013) demonstrated that weeds may alter soil microbial community structure as a means of increasing competitive success in arable soils. However, the relationship between weeds and soil microbial communities requires further investigations. Tein et al. (2014) investigated how different farming systems influence tuber yields and quality of potato as well as how potato cultivation within a crop rotation under different farming systems affects soil quality. Experiments were carried out on stagnic luvisol in Estonia. In this study, potato was part of a five crop rotation experiment in which red ...
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The impact of organic amendments on the soil microorganisms and plant growth and health in conditions of organic agriculture of Northern temperate climate was analyzed. Some case studies dealing with green manure or vermicompost amendments are discussed giving deeper analyses of the vermicompost impact on plant growth. The first case study is about the impact of green manure on soil microbial populations and soil suppressiveness against such pathogens as late blight, potato scab, and black scurf of potato in organic agriculture. The second case study is about the use of vermicompost in organic starch potato cultivation. Significantly higher numbers of all groups of analyzed cultivable microorganisms were observed in organic agriculture fields in comparison to conventional fields. Results obtained by molecular methods regarding fungal diversity did not show such an increase. Controversial results about plant health, in terms of disease suppressiveness, have been obtained. The possible acting mechanisms of the vermicompost on plant growth are discussed. Our studies raise particular concerns about the vermicompost. Definitely, the unique nature of organic amendments in each case must be taken into account. Further studies are needed to explain the impact of green manure and vermicompost on the plant health.
... However, Leszczyński and Lisińska (1988) reported that intensified nitrogen fertilization increased the content of protein nitrogen in dry matter of potato tubers and decreased the content of dry matter and starch in potato tubers (Table 4). Beside, the starch content of tubers was not alternated by different doses of N fertilizer compared with no N application (Tein et al., 2014). The uniform results are probably due to the different tested soil, cultivators and agricultural atmosphere in comparison with our results. ...
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Numerous studies on the traits of controlled release urea in agronomic production and the environmental protection were conducted in various crops system. However, understanding the effect of controlled release urea on potato production and nitrogen use efficiency was currently limited. In the present study, the effect of newly developed controlled release urea (CRU) including polymer coated urea (PCU) and polymer coating of sulfur-coated urea (PSCU) on the N use efficiency, tuber yield and quality of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) that was grown on silt loamy soil were investigated in a field experiment over 2 yr at different sites. The application rate of polymer-coated urea (PCU) and urea was 150kgNha-1, and polymer sulfur-coated urea (PSCU) was applied at 150kgNha-1 and 225kgNha-1. The N release rates from CRU synchronized the N requirement of potatoes at different stages. The CRU treatments significantly increased total tuber yields by 8.77-19.88% in 2012 and 14.36-26.46% in 2013 in comparison with the urea treatment during the same year. The marketable tuber yield percentage was pronouncedly promoted by the application of PCU and PSCU in both years. N fertilization significantly enhanced the vitamin C, soluble protein and starch content. The significant difference of vitamin C concentration in tuber was only observed in 2013 between PCU and PSCU treatments. The application of PCU and PSCU markedly improved the N agronomic efficiency and apparent N use efficiency, but obviously decreased the N physiological efficiency relative to urea treatment in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, enhancing dose of PSCU did augment total tuber yield and did not increase the marketable yield percentage, but decreased the apparent N use efficiency compared with PSCU treatment. Consequently, moderate amounts (150kgNha-1) of PSCU and PCU are recommended to replace urea for gaining greater yields of potato and nutrient use efficiency.
... Plant available nutrients were determined by the ammonium lactate (AL) method (Egnér et al., 1960). A more detailed description of the experiment is presented in Tein et al. (2014). ...
... Other studies also showed that the ratio of below-ground dry mass to total biomass increased under these conditions (Fleisher et al. 2008). It was earlier reported that larger tuber size may result in lower DM and starch contents (Tein et al. 2014), and in this context, the average tuber size in the current study was lower for RT compared to ST. ...
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The majority of Dutch farmers perceive that mouldboard ploughing prior to potato planting is necessary, despite its negative impacts on inherent soil fertility and soil structure. An innovative agronomic practice in Dutch organic agriculture is the use of cut-and-carry fertilizers with which above-ground biomass of crops with high nitrogen content (e.g. grass/clover) is harvested and transferred to other fields as plant-based fertilizers. The objective of this study was to investigate the interactive effects of two tillage systems (reduced tillage (RT), standard tillage (ST)) and three organic fertilizer amendments (solid cattle manure (SCM), lucerne pellets (LP), grass/clover silage (GCS)) on crop performance and nitrogen utilization of organic potato. Use of RT decreased tuber yield by 13.4 % compared to ST due to lower average tuber size which was related to higher soil bulk density and increased vulnerability to drought stress during tuber bulking. On the other hand, use of RT positively affected nitrogen utilization and tuber quality in terms of specific gravity, dry matter and starch contents. However, the price premium associated with enhanced tuber quality may not offset the observed yield gap between RT and ST. Plant-based fertilizers enhanced nitrogen utilization in terms of apparent nitrogen recovery compared to animal-based. Although use of LP resulted in the highest yield for both tillage systems, its high price may be cost-inhibitive. An integrated approach taking into account N release patterns, environmental conditions, final yields, and production costs is needed in order to optimize resource use efficiency and overall profitability for farmers.
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The aim of the study to investigate the effect of individual or combined K and Mg addition on potato tuber yield and quality along the gradient of soil and environmental conditions, which was formed by the five experimental plots in the forest-steppe one of West Siberia. Location and time of the study. Microplot field experiment with moderately early potato cultivar Jelly with three fertilization treatments (N100P60, N100P60+K100 and N100P60+K100+Mg100) was setup in five replicates on five experimental plots with agricultural grey soils in the Novosibirsk Region in 2023. Geographical coordinates of the experimental sites varied from 55°15'40" to 54°47'09" NL and from 83°31'42" to 82º37' 56" EL. Methods. Instead of traditional temporal gradient (3–4 years of the experiment at a site) to account for weather variation, with the same purpose we used a spatial gradient, which in addition allowed to assess the effect of soil properties variation among the sites. Soil samples, collected prior to the experiment, were analyzed for organic carbon content, nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, exchangeable phosphorous, potassium and magnesium, as well as soil pH and electrical conductivity. In the course of the experiment air and soil (at 5 and 15 cm depth) temperatures was automatically recorded. At the end of the experiment potato tuber mass and number, as well as the aboveground phytomass, were measured at each microplot. After five months of tuber storage sensory properties (flavour, aroma, colour, mealiness and friability) of boiled tubers were assessed using a Hedonic scale. Analysis of variance, principal components extraction and multiple regression by partial least squares method were performed using Statistica v. 13.1. software. Results. Addition of K at the background NP fertilization (N100P60+K100 treatment) increased tuber yield by 30% and the aboveground phytomass by 40%. Addition of Mg (N100P60+K100+Mg100) did not affect yield properties, but markedly improved potato culinary quality. More than half of the variance of the potato yield properties was accounted for by the variation in soil and environmental conditions of the experimental fields location. Exchangeable Mg, ammonium N and soil pH were the main soil properties, allowing to forecast the current year tuber yield. The contribution of soil and environmental conditions of the experimental fields into the variance of the sensory properties, albeit small, was statistically significant (p≤0,05) for aroma and colour, with the similar trend for flavour and friability (0,05≤p≤0,10). Agrochemical properties, i.e. soil organic carbon, readily exchangeable P and nitrate N contents, as well as soil pH, were the main variables, determining tuber quality for consumers. Conclusions. The study performed on the agricultural grey soil in the forest-steppe zone of West Siberia confirmed the importance of optimizing potato mineral nutrition. Addition of NPK at the balanced rates significantly increased potato yield as compared with NP. Although addition of MG together with NPK did not increase the yield, it markedly improved sensory properties of potato. Some soil properties and temperature conditions, found to determine the yield (effective soil fertility), can be used in prognostic models for potato tuber yields and quality.
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In organic production of potatoes for processing into starch, it is essential to obtain high and stable starch yields, as determined by the yield of tubers and the content of starch in the tubers. The stability of these traits in potato varieties is especially important in variable environments affected by soil properties and climatic condi- tions. Pre-sprouting of the seed tubers before planting can accelerate plant development and promote acceptable starch yields in a shorter growing period. This study evaluated traits of seven potato varieties important for organic starch production, assessed trait stability in different environments and determined the effect of seed tuber pre- sprouting on plant development and stability parameters. Significant effects of genotype, growing environment, and their interactions on tuber yield, starch yield and starch content of the tubers were observed. No significant effects were found of seed tuber pre- sprouting on the performance of the tested traits. Four trait stability evaluation methods were applied to tuber yield, starch yield and starch content, including a modified Kang’s yield-stability approach, and these showed inconsistent results. The modified Kang’s stability rating could be further used for determination of the best performing varieties, with high values for the essential traits and relatively high stability for each individual trait
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Meta-analysis is often used to compare how soil health differs between organic and conventional farming systems. However, the burgeoning primary literature on organic farming now allows direct evaluation of the best management practices (BMPs) within organic farming systems on soil health improvements. Therefore, the main objective of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effect of BMPs, such as organic amendments, conservation tillage, and cover cropping, on soil health within organic farming systems. We focused on two principal soil health metrics: soil organic carbon (SOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) concentrations. On average, adoption of BMPs increased depth-weighted SOC and MBC concentrations by 18 and 30 %, respectively, relative to organically-managed control groups. Among BMPs, organic amendments and conservation tillage practices showed net positive effect on soil health with 24 and 14 % increase in depth-weighted SOC concentrations, respectively. Although cover cropping did not have an overall influence on SOC concentrations, we found a temporal trend such that cover cropping significantly increased SOC concentrations after 5 years of its adoption. This indicates that the soil health benefits from BMPs accrue over time and highlights the need of long-term adoptability of BMPs to achieve agricultural sustainability. Future primary articles that focus on under-researched cropping practices in organic systems (e.g., crop rotation length and diversity, biochar addition) and the additive effects of multiple BMPs on soil health, will add to the synthesizable evidence base. Therefore, this meta-analysis confirms the soil health benefits of adopting BMPs within organic farming systems, identifies critical knowledge gaps, and provides directions for future organic farming research.
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The effects of organic (manure, cover crop) and mineral fertilisers on total yield, soil phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) dynamics and soil pH changes were studied over 10 years. Five field crops (spring barley, red clover, winter wheat, field pea, potato) were grown organically and conventionally in rotation. The total yield of the five crops fertilized similarly was 24–25% higher in conventionally fertilised treatments than in organic treatments. The higher yielding conventionally fertilised treatments (annual total yield 29.0–29.8 t ha–1) removed 12–18 kg ha–1 P and 45–73 kg ha–1 K per year, which was respectively 28–35% and 28–40% higher than organic treatments. The soil became more acidic in the conventional system (pH 5.4–5.9 versus 5.9–6.3). The highest annual P and K uptake was by potato, followed by winter wheat. Use of winter cover crops and composted cattle manure in the organic system did not maintain the levels of P and K in the soil at baseline.
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The prime concept of agricultural sustainability is to develop effective farming strategy encompassing organic food production maintaining environmental safety. Soil amendment by organic and inorganic input is an effective approach for soil conditioning to achieve such organic production. This study reveals the efficacy of SSm-39 as soil inoculant for quality production of sesame crop. Soil amendment with varied amount of inoculant and MF was attempted. Application of full dose of inoculant with low dose of MF in sesame cultivation enhanced the soil nutrient availability and the microbial diversity, further supports the nutrient uptake efficiency and growth of the test plant. Notable enhancement (150 %) in crop growth was observed with the standardized treatment condition. In regression analysis, nutrient uptake efficiency (R2 = 0.88–0.99) of test crop and microbial load (R2 = 0.94) in post harvest bulk soil, showed a proportional positive correlation with the inoculant amount. This study suggests an effective farming strategy, involving soil inoculant with low inorganic inputs that lead to enhancement in crop yield (82 %), NPK uptake (223 %) and effectively maintains the soil micro-ecosystem. This is the first report of using Candida sp. in sesame cropping.
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The effect of organic and conventional methods on the yield and biological quality of potato in two field crop rotations was identified. The field trials were performed in Central-Estonia in Olustvere (58º 33΄ N, 25º 34΄ E) during two years and in North-Estonia in Saku (59º 18΄ N, 24º 39΄ E) during three years. In Olustvere the following cultivation methods were compared: organic I – without manure, organic II – with cattle manure (at the rate 60 t ha -1), and conventional (manure, mineral fertilizers and pesticides were used). In organic cultivation the fertilization with manure increased the potato yield on average 36.5%. At that, the dry matter content in tubers decreased and the nitrate content increased. In conventional farming the yield was 127% higher than in the variant organic II. In organic cultivation the tubers' content of dry matter, starch and minerals was higher than in conventional cultivation. As to the content of reducing sugars, crude protein and nitrates no significant differences were found between the cultivation methods. In Saku, the yields and biochemical composition of potato were compared in trial areas fertilized with plant compost and mineral fertilizers. Equivalent rates of NPK to both trial variants were applied during three years. With compost the yield of potato was on average 32.1% lower than with mineral fertilizers. There were no significant differences in the effect of compost and mineral fertilizers on the biological quality of potato tubers.
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Five field experiments were conducted over 3 years in the Mt Lofty Ranges (4 sites) and the Upper South East (1 site) to examine the significance of main effects and interactions between nitrogen (N, up to 360 kg N/ha), phosphorus (P, up to 320 kg P/ha), and potassium (K, up to 480 kg K/ha) on total yield, yield of 80-350 g size grade, specific gravity, crisp colour, and chemical composition of tubers of potato cv. Kennebec. There were significant (P<0.05) main effects of increasing rates of applied N on total tuber yield and yield of 80-350 g tubers at 2 of the 5 experimental sites; the effect of applied P was significant at 3 sites, and applied K also at 3 sites. Application of N, P, and K increased total tuber yield by 13-432%, 19-145%, and 19-89%, respectively, at responsive sites. Increases in the yield of 80-350 g tubers were similar to those for total yield. There were significant first-order interactions (N x K, N x P, K x P) at 2 sites. The interactions were (i) response to the application of 1 nutrient limited by suboptimal rates of another; and (ii) yield depression, due to high rates of 1 or more nutrients. Nitrogen and P increased specific gravity at only 1 of the sites where they were applied. Potassium increased specific gravity at 1 site but decreased it at another. There were significant N x K, N x P, and K x P interactions at 2 sites. Vascular ring colour index (CI) and medulla CI were significantly (P<0.05) affected by rates of applied N, P, and K at 1, 3, and 4 experimental sites, respectively. Application of K (up to 480 kg K/ha) decreased vascular ring CI and medulla CI. Application of P increased the colour indices; for example, increasing the rate of P from nil to 160 kg/ha increased mean (¦ s.e.) vascular ring CI from 51 ¦ 18 to 117 ¦ 17. No interactions between N, P, and K in their effects on medulla CI were significant. For vascular ring CI, significant first-order interactions (K x N, K x P) were observed at 2 sites, at which application of N and P at nil K significantly increased vascular ring CI. At 240 or 480 kg K/ha, there was no change. Significant (P<0.001) curvilinear relationships were found between specific gravity and the concentrations of N, P, and K in the stem-end region of tubers; the coefficients of determination (r2) were 0.27, 0.62, and 0.76, respectively. For the combined medulla CI and vascular ring CI data, the corresponding values were 0.19 (P<0.001), 0.29 (P<0.001), and 0.05 (n.s.), respectively.
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The short-term effects of different fertilization practices were the target of the three year series of experiments. The effects of organic fertilizers and a mineral fertilizer were investigated on selected quality characteristics of potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Matilda). Chemical composition, new contemporary quality parameters, ‘change of electrical conductivity’ and ‘darkening of potato extract’, and a parameter of environmental quality were analysed to discover the qualitative effects of increasing rates of fertilizers (fresh and composted farmyard manure, aerated slurry and mineral fertilization). In contrast to farmyard manure, the high application rate of the mineral fertilizer raised the concentration of nitrogenous compounds (nitrate and free amino acids) in potato. The slurry fertilization caused a similar but smaller reaction. The potato dry matter content differed more strongly than starch between the organic and the mineral fertilizer and between the application rates. The minerally-fertilized potatoes showed a lower dry matter content than the organically-fertilized. Thus, the dry matter and starch yield showed no significant difference between the mineral and organic treatments, even though the fresh matter yield was higher with the mineral fertilization. The ‘change of electrical conductivity of potato extract’ was highest with the mineral fertilization and the difference between organic fertilizers widened with increasing fertilization levels. The concentrations of mineral compounds and vitamin C, and the ‘darkening of potato extract’, due to a strong variation between replications, showed only a few statistically significant differences between the treatments.
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There is concern that modern cultivars and/or agronomic practices have resulted in reduced concentrations of mineral elements essential to human nutrition in edible crops. Increased yields are often associated with reduced concentrations of mineral elements in produce, and a number of recent studies have indicated that, when grown under identical conditions, the concentrations of several mineral elements are lower in genotypes yielding more grain or shoot biomass than in older, lower-yielding genotypes. Potato is a significant crop, grown worldwide, yet few studies have investigated whether increasing yields, through agronomy or breeding, affects the concentrations of mineral elements in tubers. This article examines the hypothesis that increasing yields, either by the application of mineral fertilizers and/or by growing higher-yielding varieties, leads to decreased concentrations of mineral elements in tubers. It reports that the application of fertilizers influences tuber elemental composition in a complex manner, presumably as a consequence of soil chemistry and interactions between mineral elements within the plant, that considerable variation exists between potato genotypes in the concentrations of mineral elements in their tubers, and that, like in other crops, higher-yielding genotypes occasionally have lower concentrations of some mineral elements in their edible tissues than lower-yielding genotypes.
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Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth most important food crop in the world after corn, wheat, and rice. It is adapted to a wide range of growing conditions, producing high yields with a near-optimum balance of nutrients for human consumption. China is the world's largest potato producer and continues to account for a large part of the global increase in potato production. Although the potato can be highly productive, it has a relatively shallow root system and often requires significant nutrient inputs to maintain tuber productivity and quality. Each metric ton of tubers removes approximately 3.8 kg nitrogen (N), 0.6 kg phosphorus (P), and 4.4 kg potassium (K). Proper nutrient management, therefore, is extremely important for sustaining high tuber yield and quality.Lack of adequate balanced fertilization in China is reportedly a yield-limiting factor in some areas. For example, potassium (K) is very important for producing a potato crop with high tuber yield and quality. Limited K resources in China and continued cropping have resulted in below-adequate levels of soil K in many regions of the country, which will impact potato production. On the other hand, based on U.S. experience, the high nutrient demand by potato, application of high rates of fertilizer, and production on coarser textured soils can result in nutrient losses. Nutrient best-management practices are developed with the objective of optimizing production, net returns, and minimizing environmental degradation. In general, optimal N management has had the most important impact on tuber yield and quality compared with the other essential elements. Best management practices for N fertilization include appropriate selection of rate, source, timing, and method of application. Optimal management of irrigation is also important to improve N-uptake efficiency and minimize N losses while maintaining high yields and quality. Phosphorus is another key nutrient important from both production and environmental standpoints. Adequate P is required for optimum tuber-set, while excessive rates may result in soil-P buildup and potential runoff problems. This review will focus on various management techniques to maximize nutrient-uptake efficiency by potatoes.
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A 3year field study on a loamy sand soil with medium to high soil test phosphorus (P) concentrations (25 to 33mg kg−1 Bray P1) was conducted to evaluate the effect of P fertilizer rate, source, and timing, and starter nitrogen (N) rate on potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Russet Burbank) yield, tuber size, tuber set, petiole P concentration, and P uptake and distribution within the plant. Nine fertilizer treatments compared banded P rates of 0, 37, 42, and 74kg P ha−1, the P sources monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP), P banded at planting vs. split applications at planting and emergence, and starter N rates of 38 and 66kg N ha−1. Phosphorus fertilizer application increased total tuber yield and yield of undersized tubers (tubers less than 85g), but decreased the proportion of large-sized tubers (greater than 285g). Due to the increases in small, unmarketable tubers, P fertilizer application did not have a significant effect on marketable tuber yield (tubers greater than 85g). The total number of tubers per plant and the number of undersized tubers were also higher, and the number of large tubers was lower, when P was applied compared with the zero P control. Both the number and yield of undersized tubers increased as P application rate increased. Petiole P concentrations were generally consistent with the rate of P applied, but they varied by year in magnitude and their pattern through the season. Petiole P was positively correlated with the number of tubers per plant, but only correlated for 1year with differences in total yield. Phosphorus application increased total P uptake due primarily to an increase in tuber P concentration. Increases in total uptake and tuber P increased as P application rate increased, but differences in uptake were small relative to the amounts of P applied. Phosphorus source and timing and starter N rate did not consistently affect tuber yield, number, or size, petiole or tuber P concentration, and P uptake. The results of this study indicate that P nutrition can play an important role in regulating tuber set. Un estudio de campo en suelo arcillo-arenoso, con concentraciones mediana a alta de fósforo (P) (25 a 33mg kg−1 Bray P1) se realizó durante tres años para evaluar el efecto de dosis de fertilizante, fuentes de P, control del tiempo y dosis inicial de nitrógeno (N) con papa (Solanum tuberosun L. cv. Russet Burbank) sobre el rendimiento, tamaño del tubérculo, número de tubérculos por planta, concentración de P en el pecíolo y absorción de P y su distribución dentro de la planta. Nueve tratamientos con fertilizantes compararon el P aplicado en bandas a las dosis de 0, 37, 42 y 74kg P ha−1, las fuentes de fosfato mono amónico (MAP) y fosfato di amónico (DAP), el P aplicado a la siembra con aplicaciones divididas a la siembra y a la emergencia y dosis de inicio de N de 38 y 66kg N ha−1. La aplicación de fertilizante con fósforo aumentó el rendimiento total de tubérculos y de tubérculos pequeños (menos de 85g), pero disminuyó la proporción de tubérculos más grandes (mayores de 285g). Debido al incremento de tubérculos de menos tamaño no comerciables, la aplicación de fertilizante con P no tuvo efecto significativo en el rendimiento de tubérculos comerciales (tubérculos con más de 85g). El número total de tubérculos por planta y el número de tubérculos pequeños fue también alto y el número de tubérculos grandes fue menor cuando se aplicó P comparado con ninguna aplicación de P al testigo. Tanto el número como el rendimiento de tubérculos pequeños se incrementó a medida que se incrementó la dosis de P. Las concentraciones de P del pecíolo fueron generalmente consistentes con la cantidad de P aplicado pero variaron en magnitud durante el año y su patrón a través de la estación. El P del pecíolo fue positivamente correlacionado con el número de tubérculos por planta, pero solo se correlacionó por un año con diferencias en rendimiento total. La aplicación de P incremento su total absorción, debido principalmente a un incremento en la concentración de P en el tubérculo. El aumento en la absorción total y P del tubérculo se incrementó a medida que la dosis de la aplicación se incrementó, pero las diferencias en absorción fueron pequeñas con relación a cantidad aplicada de P. La fuente de P y el momento de aplicación y la cantidad de N inicial no afectaron consistentemente el rendimiento de tubérculos, número o tamaño, la concentración de P en el peciolo o en el tubérculo y la absorción de P. Los resultados de este estudio indican que el P puede jugar un rol importante en la regulación del número de tubérculos por planta.
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Experiments were conducted in lysimeters with sandy soil under an automatic rain-out shelter to study the effects of subsurface drip irrigation treatments, full irrigation (FI), deficit irrigation (DI) and partial root-zone drying (PRD), on nitrogen (N) dynamics in the soil-plant system of potatoes. In 2005, FI and PRD 2 were investigated, where FI plants received 100% of evaporative demands, while PRD 2 plants received 70% water of FI at each irrigation event after tuber initiation. In 2006, besides FI and PRD 2 treatments, DI and PRD 1 receiving 70% water of FI during the whole season were also studied. Crop N uptake and residual NH 4 -N and NO 3 -N to a depth of 0–50 cm, at 10 cm intervals were analyzed. For both years, the PRD 2 treatment resulted in 30% water saving and maintained yield as compared with the FI treatment, while when investigated in 2006 only, DI and PRD 1 treatments resulted in significant (P < 0.05) yield reductions. In 2005, the soil residual N content at harvest was significantly 29% lower with PRD 2 than for FI in the whole root zone; and leaf N concentration for PRD 2 was significantly higher than for FI. In 2006, soil residual N content at harvest was 33% lower with PRD 2 than for FI, which was not significant however. In the late season, reflectance vegetation index and leaf area index for the water saving treatments were higher than for the FI treatment. For both years the PRD 2 treatment had the lowest residual N content in the root zone. We conclude that: (1) of the investigated water saving irrigation strategies (PRD 1 PRD 2 , DI) PRD imposed just after tuber initiation until maturity (PRD 2) was the only strategy able to maintain yield; thus, soil drying induced by PRD or DI treatments should be avoided during early growth stages; (2) the PRD and DI treatments improved soil nitrogen availability late in the growing season maintaining top 'greenness' to a greater extent, as compared with FI.
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Calcium and magnesium are two minerals that play prominent roles in animal and plant metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine if genetic variation exists among advanced potato breeding clones for tuber calcium and magnesium content and the extent of genotype x environment interactions on these two traits. Ten, 13, and 13 clones were evaluated in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Tuber calcium content ranged from 266 to 944 μg-g−1 DW; magnesium from 787 to 1,089 μg-g−1 DW. Genotype x environment interactions were significant in all trials. However, only the Tri-State for calcium and the Western Regional Red/Specialty trials for both minerals displayed a significant source of variation for genotypes. Broad-sense heritabilities for tuber calcium content were 0.65, 0.37 and 0 in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Broad-sense heritabilities for tuber magnesium content were 0.57, 0, and 0.72 in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Potato is not a rich source of either calcium or magnesium for the human diet, but genetic variation exists among potato clones that might be useful for plant health.
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The possible impact of climate change on frequency and severity of weather extremes is hotly debated among climate scientists. Weather extremes can have a significant impact on agricultural production, but their effect is often unclear; this due to interaction with other factors that affect yield and due to lack of precise definitions of relevant weather extremes. We show that an empirical analysis of historical yields can help to identifying such rare, high impact climate events. A reconstructed time series of ware potato production in Flevoland (The Netherlands) over the last 60 years (1951–2010) enabled us to identify the two main yield affecting weather extremes. In around 10% of the years yield anomalies were larger than −20%. We found that these anomalies could be explained from two weather extremes (and no other), namely a wet start of the growing season and wet end of the growing season. We derived quantitative, meteorological definitions of these extremes. Climate change scenarios for 2050 show either no change or increased frequency of the two extremes. We demonstrate there is large uncertainty about past and future frequencies of the extremes, caused by a lack of sufficiently long historical weather records and uncertainties in climate change projections on precipitation. The approach to identify weather extremes presented here is generally applicable and shows the importance of long term crop and weather observations for investigating key climatic risks to production.
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A low basal N application combined with in-season adjustment of the sidedressNrate has been proposed as a means to saveN in growing potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). We hypothesize that a measurement of canopy reflectance provides information which can be used to adjust sidedressNrate. The objective of our work was to develop and test a canopy reflectance-based Nsidedress system for potato in humid climates. In four years of experiments with ware potato on a sandy soil it was determined that the reflectance index WDVI correlates well with N uptake, that sidedressN should be applied at around the time of canopy closing, and that the sidedressNrate should be calculated as the difference between a (fixed) desired N uptake and a reflectance-based measurement of N uptake. The calculated N saving in these experiments was between 10 and 109 (average 56) kg N ha−1. The reflectance-based Nsidedress system was tested at an additional two locations, with ware potatoes on a loamy soil and with starch potatoes on a sandy soil, in two further years of experiments. N saving in these experiments was between 8 and 88 (average 44) kg N ha−1. In both sets of experiments, yields with the sidedress system were generally at the same level as yields obtained with recommended Nrates (basal N only). We conclude that the reflectance-based sidedressN system allows saving of N while maintaining yield
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Potato (Solatium tuberosum) generally requires high amounts of phosphate fertilizer to reach economically acceptable yields, particularly in soils originating from volcanic ash. This is a consequence of the potato plants low root density and the slow soil diffusion rate of phosphorus (P) in these soils. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of P rates on tuber yield, biomass production, and distribution, biomass P accumulation and concentration, and P distribution in potato cv. Mexiquense. The experiment was carried out in an Andisol (7.8 μg g Olsen‐P) located at the east of Valle de México. Fertilization rates were 0, 18,41,46,69,78,90,106,113,135,150,163, and 207 kg ha P, from ordinary superphosphate. Top growth and root biomass, tuber yield, P percentage and P accumulation in different plant parts were measured at harvest. Minimum and maximum average tuber yields were 8.4 and 18.0 Mg ha; the plants absorbed 5.8 and 11.8 kg ha P, corresponding to 0 (control) and 207 kg ha P, respectively. Phosphorus fertilization had little influence on plant P concentration, where average concentrations in tuber and top growth were 0.20 and 0.24 % P, respectively. By contrast, P accumulation increased with increasing P rates, but P distribution between tuber and top growth was dependent on the amount of P applied. The control treatment showed approximately 1:1 distribution of P between top growth and tuber, but as P rate increased, top growth P decreased and tuber P increased. When applying the highest P rate, 36% of P accumulated in the top growth and 64 % in the tuber. The information obtained will permit decisions on the correct use of phosphate fertilizer for potato in Andisols of the Valle de Mexico.
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Three potato cultivars, Kufri Badshah, Kufri Chandramukhi, and Kufri Jyoti were grown in low potassium (K) soil with and without K in a pot experiment to test their K uptake efficiency. Two harvests were taken to obtain final dry matter accumulation (DMA) rates of shoot and root growth and K uptake per unit root (K-influx). Relative DMA without K (expressed as percent of DMA with K) was 66, 75, and 90% for Kufri Badshah, Kufri Jyoti, and Kufri Chandramukhi, respectively, showing that Kufri Chandramukhi had a higher K uptake efficiency than other cultivars. High K uptake efficiency of Kufri Chandramukhi was due to its high K-influx while low K uptake efficiency of Kufri Badshah and Kufri Jyoti was due to low K-influx which nullified the effect of their high root-shoot (DMA) ratio. The potassium efficient cultivar, Kufri Chandramukhi, utilized more K from non-exchangeable soil source (46%) than Kufri Jyoti (25%) or Kufri Badshah (17%).
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Climate, cultivar, and crop management determine the growth and dry matter (DM) production of a potato (Solanum tuberosum) crop. Drought and high temperature affect leaf area development and its persistence, and these in turn limit the photosynthetic activity of the crop and finally DM production and allocation. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate four potato cultivars for growth performance and DM partitioning to the sink by efficient use of the microclimate of the specific growing location. Four potato cultivars, namely ‘Frodo’, ‘Pentland Dell’, ‘Darius’, and ‘Shepody’, were used in the experiment. Four different harvests were undertaken during the growing season to determine DM partitioning to various parts of the plant. The results revealed that during the first harvest the percentage of leaf DM and tuber DM did not differ significantly among cultivars. The total DM accumulation for ‘Shepody’ was found to be significantly higher during the first harvest. During the second harvest, however, ‘Shepody’ and ‘Frodo’ had significantly lower DM partitioned to leaf and stem respectively, but ‘Shepody’ still had maximum total DM accumulation. Again, during the third harvest, ‘Shepody’ maintained its highest total DM accumulation and had the highest DM translocation towards tuber and the least towards leaf. ‘Shepody’ is an early maturing cultivar, and the high tuber DM during this harvest did not necessarily indicate a high final yield. This is substantiated by the final tuber harvest, where ‘Frodo’ produced a significantly higher fresh tuber yield and ‘Shepody’ yielded the least. Average leaf area index followed the same trend as the total DM accumulation, where ‘Shepody’ had significantly the highest and ‘Darius’ remained the lowest. From this, it can be concluded that ‘Frodo’ appeared to be the highest yielder, followed by ‘Pentland Dell’.
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Low dose chemical stress has been shown to increase plant vegetative growth, though not all chemicals induce the response. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide by volume and treated area. At low doses, it can increase growth in a variety of species. Here we show that a glyphosate-induced growth increase can be transformed into an increase in crop yield, if applied at the right time. Glyphosate, in the dose range of 2.5–20ga.e.ha−1, corresponding to less than 1% of the rate normally used for weed control in the field, increased grain yield of barley by 12–15% when applied at the time of grain filling. Straw yield and the quality of the grains in terms of nitrogen and starch content were not affected by the treatment. The physiological mechanism behind this counter intuitive increase in growth is still unknown, as are possible adverse effects. It is, however, evident that understanding the physiological processes behind chemically induced growth increases in plants holds the promise of improving food yield.