Abstract
AbstractThe technology of hybrid breeding in diploid potatoes creates opportunities to design novel and improved cultivation systems based on hybrid true potato seeds. A promising cultivation pathway to produce seed or ware tubers is by transplanting greenhouse-raised seedlings into the field. This study explored the effects of transplanting date and seedling age on tuber yield, using greenhouse-raised seedlings. Field trials with experimental hybrid genotypes were conducted in three consecutive years. In 2017 and 2018, 4- and 6-week-old seedlings were transplanted at four dates: March, April, May and June. In 2019, transplanting dates included April, May and June and seedling age was 5 weeks. In 2018, the March planting experienced severe frost during the initial field period resulting in crop failure. In 2017 and 2019, plants could withstand shorter and less severe frost events. Seedling age did not significantly affect tuber parameters. Transplanting in June resulted in lower marketable yield (> 28 mm) compared with earlier transplanting dates when crops were harvested in September. At full crop senescence, no differences in marketable yield were observed. The optimal transplanting window, taking into account weather-related risks, is approximately between early April and end May. For some genotypes, crop cycle length was observed to be a more important yield-determining factor than transplanting date.
Highlights
The novel technology of diploid hybrid breeding reported by Lindhout et al (2011) has led to the introduction of hybrid true potato seeds (TPS) for potato production
Potato crops derived from TPS-grown plant materials were not able to penetrate the existing potato value chains that are based on seed-tuber grown crops; hybrid TPS is expected to accelerate the transition from a conventional seed tuber-based system to a TPS-based system (Lindhout et al 2011, 2018; Jansky et al 2016; Stokstad 2019)
The effect of transplanting date was much smaller and less pronounced than anticipated, rather, the use of different experimental hybrid genotypes determined the differences in yield levels, which partly might have been caused by their differences in crop cycle length
Summary
The novel technology of diploid hybrid breeding reported by Lindhout et al (2011) has led to the introduction of hybrid true potato seeds (TPS) for potato production. To derive seed and ware tubers from hybrid TPS, various cultivation systems can be used These include direct field sowing, field transplanting of greenhouse-raised seedlings and planting of seedling tubers derived from either transplanted or directly sown plants. All these systems can be used for further seed tuber multiplication or the production of ware tubers (Almekinders et al 1996, 2009; van Dijk et al 2021). The first yield data of diploid hybrid TPS grown from greenhouse-raised seedlings have been reported as ranging between 25 and 30 Mg/ha (van Dijk et al 2021). Crops grown from seedling tubers derived from greenhouse-raised seedlings of diploid hybrid TPS yield between 16 and 52 Mg/ha (Stockem et al 2020)
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