Red Clover–Potato Cultivar Combinations for Improved Potato Yield

Abstract

One of the challenges to potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production systems is to reduce N applications without incurring any marketable yield penalty. From previous studies, it was established that red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) can encourage the development of beneficial rhizobacterial communities that promote potato growth and development, in essence making agricultural soils as or more productive for specific quality attributes. In the present 2‐yr study, we examined the influence of the red clover cultivars AC Charlie, AC Endure, AC Kingston, Atlas, Marino, and Prosper on the potato cultivars Kennebec, Russet Burbank, and Shepody, grown in the following season. We found that the preceding clover cultivar had no influence on either Kennebec or Russet Burbank. However, Shepody potato following AC Kingston showed a significant yield advantage (P = 0.05), in tonnes per hectare, over other clover cultivars (except Atlas) in the Size 2 category of tubers (tubers >51 mm in diam. and <280 g), the grade for which growers are characteristically paid the most. We encourage breeding programs to examine the ability of any given line to manipulate its root zone microflora with respect to its own needs and to those of subsequent crops. While the complexities of plant–soil–microbial interactions are great, the beneficial biological interactions that stimulate crop yields and improve plant health can be evaluated relatively simply, and general management strategies can be devised accordingly for any given set of crop combinations and growing environments.