Factors affecting the leaf nutrient concentrations (LNC) of the potato crop were assessed over an 8-yr period on 372 irrigated fields located on Brown and Dark Brown Chernozemic soils. The mean LNC values obtained by standardized sampling and analytical procedures for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg were 5.63, 0.46, 3.44, 1.17, and 0.77%, respectively. Coefficient of variability (CV) of LNC between multiple samples within 98 fields was very low (3.7, 9.9, 8.8, 10.8, and 10.3%). CV values derived from corresponding soil samples within 60 of these fields were 35, 29, and 19% for soluble NO3-N, NaHCO3-extractable P, and NH4OAC-exchangeable K at 0–15 cm depth. Mean LNC values for all nutrients were significantly different among years, and were correlated with various weather components. Neither leaf N nor K were significantly affected by different soil series (6), soil textural classes (6), cultivars (4), or previous crop (5). The only significant effects of these factors were texture and previous crop on P, cultivar on Ca, and series and texture on Mg. Pearson linear correlation coefficients relating LNCs with total fertilizer applications or soil analyses were poor. Multiple correlations derived from a quadratic response surface regression analysis of each nutrient, which included soil test values, and banded and broadcast fertilizer rates of the corresponding nutrient as independent variables, were high for most years (R = 0.6–0.7).Key words: Leaf analysis, soil properties, sampling variability, multiple correlations