Abstract
Global phosphate mineral resources are nonrenewable and are inevitably depleting. Exploiting elite varieties has become imperative for the efficient use of phosphorus (P) for sustainable crop production. Three potato varieties were hydroponically evaluated for P mobilization, uptake, and utilization efficiencies at different P levels and sources during 28 d seedling growth. ‘Harley Blackwell’, ‘La Chipper’, and ‘Red LaSoda’ were selected from a previous study and grown in modified Hoagland solution, with different P concentrations of soluble high P as NaH2PO4 (10 mg L−1 P), soluble low P (1 mg L−1 P), and 286 mg L−1 sparingly soluble P as tri-calcium phosphate [TCP, Ca3(PO4)2] with 2286 mg L−1 CaSO4. ‘Harley Blackwell’ and ‘La Chipper’ had significantly greater biomass than ‘Red LaSoda’ in the low P or TCP treatments. In low-P stress, P utilization efficiency was significantly greater for ‘Harley Blackwell’ than that of the other two varieties. ‘Red LaSoda’ was more efficient in P mobilization from TCP as compared to the other two cultivars. The holistic score analysis indicated that ‘Harley Blackwell’ was the most P-efficient while ‘Red LaSoda’ was the least P-efficient. The results of this study show that the TCP solution was successful for screening P-efficient potato varieties.
Highlights
Along with nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), phosphorus (P) is one of the three main nutrients essential for plant growth and development
P uptake efficiency refers to the portion of the P taken up by the crop per unit of P added
The uptake efficiency of applied P fertilizer is usually less than 20% for the season following P application [7]
Summary
Along with nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), phosphorus (P) is one of the three main nutrients essential for plant growth and development. Alternate strategies to enhance P-use efficiency by major crop plants, including potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), are of critical necessity to continue to increase food production. P-use efficiency of potato is defined as tuber yield increase per unit of P fertilizer applied and is most related to cultivar, P source, P application time, P replacement, the quantity of P application, soil, rainfall/irrigation, crop management, etc. Our recent study conducted across 32 commercial potato farms in northeast Florida showed that the mean Mehlich 3 extractable P was 351 (range: 81–599) mg kg−1 in root zone soil [8] This P level is almost 7-fold greater than the recommended adequate P level (45 mg kg−1) for potato production [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
