Increasing the seed production efficiency of autumn potato with plant growth regulators

Abstract

AbstractHigher productivity of seed‐size tubers is a significant issue in seed potato (Solanum tuberosum) production systems. Punjab, in northwest India, is the hub of seed potato production and supplies 60% seed requirement of the country. However, to improve the productivity of seed‐size (3.5–4.5 cm) tubers, research trials were run at Ludhiana for 2 years (autumn 2019 and 2020) to examine the effectiveness of plant growth regulators in enhancing the growth and yield of seed potatoes. The experimental trial with 11 growth regulation treatments—control (water spray), IBA (indole‐3‐butyric acid) (100 mg/L), IBA (200 mg/L), NAA (1‐naphthaleneacetic acid) (25 mg/L), NAA (50 mg/L), ethrel (25 mg/L), ethrel (50 mg/L), GA3 (gibberellic acid) (100 mg/L), GA3 (200 mg/L), jeevamrit, and waste decomposer—was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. GA3 (200 mg/L) applied at 45 and 60 days after sowing, resulted in significantly higher seed and total tuber yields than all other growth regulation treatments. It produced 34.9% and 31.5% higher total tuber yields as compared to the untreated control. However, it had no significant impact on undersized and small‐sized tuber yield and number. GA3 at a concentration of 200 mg/L yielded the highest seed production efficiency of 51.7% and 38.9% compared to the control. This underscores the significance of precise application concentrations in controlling both seed yield and size.