Growth and Yield in Pure and Mixed Crops of Potato Cultivars

Abstract

SUMMARYExperiments were made between 1977 and 1979 to investigate the possibility of raising potato yields by mixing together cultivars having different growth patterns. The experiments also included mixtures of unsprouted and sprouted seed of the same or different cultivars. In the first experiment (1977) Pentland Crown was mixed with Arran Pilot, Red Craig's Royal or Désirée and the binary mixtures (1:1) compared with the pure stands of each. Yield of tubers from the mixtures did not differ significantly from the mean of two components planted alone at wide or narrow spacing of the seed tubers. Two experiments with identical treatments (1978) included mixtures of Majestic and Désirée and of each cultivar with unsprouted and sprouted seed. Mixtures (1:1) yielded more tubers than the mean of the two components planted alone and at final harvest in one experiment unsprouted and sprouted Majesties gave 7·6 t/ha more than the mean of these and 6·9 t/ha more than the more productive culture (P < 0·05). Similar differences were obtained in the second experiment.In the final experiment (1979) the degree of sprout development at planting time was varied in the cultivar Majestic. Short or long sprouted seed was mixed with unsprouted seed and long sprouted Désirée was also mixed with unsprouted Majestic. Mixtures of the unsprouted cultivar with either long sprouted Majestic or Désiré exceeded, significantly, the mean yield of components planted alone by 4·1 and 5·8 t/ha, respectively, at a high level of fertilizer. As a mean of three experiments the mixture of sprouted and unsprouted Majesties yielded 6·26 t/ha more tubers than the mean of the components and 4·27 t/ha more than the higher yielding component in pure culture. Better light interception due to higher leaf area duration and a more persistent leaf canopy appeared to produce these effects.