Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of cover type (control, agro-textile or perforated plastic film) and harvest date (60 or 75 days after planting and at full physiological maturity) on the yield, quality and cost-effectiveness of early harvest potato cultivation. The study was conducted in the years 2008–2011, at the Gorzyń Experimental-Education Laboratory for Soil and Plant Cultivation, Gorzyń Branch, part of the University of Natural Sciences in Poznań. The experiment was set up in a split-plot randomized block design with four replications. Covers increased the total and marketable tuber yields at early harvest dates, in particular on the 60th day after planting, compared to the reference. Tubers cultivated under covers were also found to contain higher amounts of dry matter and starch than those which were not covered. The proportion of tuber fractions with a diameter between 4.6 and 5.5 cm and above in the total yield was found to be strongly dependent on cover type. The proportion of these fractions was significantly lower under plastic film than under Agro-textile. Over the 3 years cycle, high gross margins were achieved on the 60th and 75th days after planting with perforated film and agro-textile.
Highlights
In Poland, early harvest cultivation of potatoes is currently conducted on an area of around 30–40 thousand hectares
15.4 value of the yields as well as the cost-effectiveness of potato cultivation, selling prices were set at 2000 PLN t−1 for tubers harvested on the 60th day after planting, 1000 PLN t−1 for potatoes harvested on the 75th day after planting, and 500 PLN t−1 for tubers at full physiological maturity
In all of the study years, the highest tuber yields were obtained from cultivations under agro-textile and perforated plastic film covers
Summary
In Poland, early harvest cultivation of potatoes is currently conducted on an area of around 30–40 thousand hectares. Achieving the earliest possible marketable yield is of vital importance for such cultivation (Harasim et al 2004; Wadas and Sawicki 2005). According to the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development dated 29 October 2003, concerning specific requirements for the commercial quality of potatoes, the commercial fraction of early potatoes is defined as tubers of over 28 mm in diameter. Potatoes in Poland are usually marketable on the 60th or 75th day after planting. Lower yields of tubers harvested on these dates are usually offset by higher selling prices (Sawicka 1998).
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