Differential growth and yield responses of local potato cultivars from basic seed tubers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Potato quality of seed tubers is a determinant factor that allows obtaining high yields, and its use must be a priority for a country or a producing region. Lack of information about how local cultivars perform differentially according to the environment has been identified in order to support potential seeds production programs. The research was carried out in 2018 at the Obonuco Research Center of Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (AGROSAVIA), with the aim of analyzing the growth and yield of basic tuber seeds of five potato (Solanum tuberosum spp. andigena) cultivars. 1,080 seed tubers from each cultivar (treatments) were planted in a completely randomized block design and three replications. Mean comparison Tukey-Kramer (p≤0.05) test was performed for the yield analysis. From emergency to final harvest, destructive sampling was carried out every fifteen days in order to calculate dry matter and leaf area and establish growth models based on the accumulated degree-days (DD). The yield and proportion of seed tubers per plant were determined according to local resolution for seed certification in Colombia. Growth variables fitted better with the Hoerl, Gaussian, and third-degree polynomial models. The leaf area index of the potato cultivars reached the maximum value at 876 DD, with values ranging from 2.91 to 6.11 DD. The highest yield per plant was obtained by the Ica Única cultivar (2.73 kg plant-1). However, this cultivar showed the lowest percentage of seed tubers, with 50.59% compared to the others, which ranged between 80.82 and 87.40%. Differential potato growth responses through models based on the DD would explain the differences in final yield and seeds tuber production.