Search Results (41)

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), cultivated worldwide for its nutrient-rich underground tubers, represents a crucial staple crop whose yield is primarily determined by both tuber number and tuber size. TCP transcription factors, especially TCP containing miR319 binding sites, play pivotal roles in plant growth and development, yet their functions in potato tuber number and size remain largely unexplored. In this study, we systematically identified 32 TCP genes in potato harboring the conserved TCP domain, among which six were predicted to contain binding sites for Stu-miR319. Semi-quantitative experiments revealed that StTCP10 exhibited the highest expression levels in stolons, swollen stolons, and tuber tissues compared to other StTCP genes containing miR319 binding sites. To elucidate its biological function, we generated StTCP10-overexpressing transgenic potato lines through Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation. Phenotypic analysis demonstrated that overexpression of StTCP10 reduced tuber number per plant while enhancing tuber size, with no significant change in total yield. These findings reveal that StTCP10 with Stu-miR319 binding sites plays a critical role in tuber size and mediates the trade-off between tuber size and number, providing novel insights into the molecular breeding aimed at improving tuber size. Full article

Soil and plant covering methods offer sustainable agricultural benefits by improving soil health, water use efficiency, and reducing chemical inputs. A three-year split-plot experiment (2019–2021) evaluated the impact of various covering techniques on early potato production using two varieties (Cleopatra and Riviera). Treatments included control, plastic mulch, agrotextile, low tunnels, and their combinations. The study assessed stem number, number of tubers per plant (including per stem), average tuber mass, tuber mass per plant, and tuber yield. Results demonstrate the significant positive impact of covering methods on early potato yield. The combination of agrotextile and low tunnels resulted in the highest increases, improving key yield components like tuber number and mass per plant. While varietal differences existed, the covering methods’ influence was paramount. These findings offer a basis for optimizing early potato production for higher yields and quality. Future research should investigate the economic viability of these methods and explore organic alternatives to plastic coverings for sustainable agriculture. Full article

The effects of the combination of the light intensity and photoperiod on the yield of virus-free potato and resource utilization are still poorly understood, especially under the same daily light integral. Here, we tested the responses of virus-free potato in terms of plant growth, photosynthesis, and the tuber yield to four light intensity and photoperiod combinations (T1, 200 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 16.5 h; T2, 300 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 11 h; T3, 400 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 8.25 h; T4, 500 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 6.6 h) under the same daily light integral. The tuber number and dry weight increased with the shortening of the photoperiod. The smaller number of tubers under the T1 treatment was due to the poor transport of photosynthates in the leaves and the uneven distribution of photosynthates in the tubers during the tuber formation stage. Changes in the light intensity and photoperiod combination did not significantly impact the distribution ratio of photosynthates between plants and tubers at the tuber growth stage; they only caused adjustments in the total amount of photosynthates. In addition, the photoinhibition under T1 was caused by the long photoperiod and that under T4 was caused by the high light intensity. However, the higher content of carotene in the T4 treatment alleviated the adverse effects of photoinhibition on the tuber yield. The results showed that the number and growth of tubers were extremely negatively correlated with shoot growth and extremely positively correlated with the accumulation rate of photosynthates in the plant and the tubers per day. In terms of energy consumption and the cost of the light source, we recommend the light intensity and photoperiod combinations of 300 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 11 h or 400 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and 8.25 h to cultivate virus-free potato in plant factories. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different light qualities on the morphological development, photosynthetic characteristics, stomatal structure, and yield of potato, providing theoretical and practical guidance for optimizing light environments in controlled agricultural systems and enhancing the efficient production of potato microtubers. Six light qualities—white, red, blue, green, far-red, and ultraviolet—were applied to systematically evaluate their effects. The results showed that light quality significantly influenced plant morphological traits and physiological metabolism. Red and blue light demonstrated the most pronounced promotive effects. Under red light, plant height and stem diameter increased by 57.47% and 31.10%, respectively, compared to white light, while single tuber weight increased by 20.09%, despite a 14.96% reduction in tuber number per plant. Blue light significantly enhanced chlorophyll content (by 20.35%) and stomatal density (adaxial stomata increased by 28.85%), leading to a 38.98% increase in tuber number, a 51.79% increase in single tuber weight, and a remarkable 110.37% improvement in total yield per plant, compared to white light. In contrast, green light moderately promoted photosynthesis in lower leaves, but reduced the total yield by 39.90%. Far-red (740 nm) and ultraviolet light (390 nm) severely inhibited plant growth and failed to induce tuber formation. Correlation analysis revealed a highly significant positive relationship between chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal density, and yield per plant (r = 0.96, p < 0.01). This study systematically evaluated the independent effects of single light quality on potato growth and production for the first time, clarifying the regulatory advantages of red and blue light, and providing important theoretical insights for optimizing the light environment with red and blue light to improve potato microtuber yield. Furthermore, this study provides critical data to support future research on the dynamic optimization of light quality ratio. Full article

In view of raising concerns of climate change, the impact of temperature on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) growth and productivity was investigated by planting at different times to expose plants to natural variations in air and soil temperatures. Over two seasons with differing temperature patterns, emergence, stem and tuber numbers, tuber size distribution, yield, processing quality, and seed tuber behavior were analyzed. Postharvest, tubers from each planting were stored and replanted to assess temperature carryover effects. Generally, delayed plantings increased the average number of stems per plant (37%) but did not alter the tuber numbers per plant. Early (18 April) and mid-season (9 May) plantings produced higher yields, while late planting (30 May) reduced total yield (42%), US No. 1 yield (48%), and tuber numbers (34%). Moreover, the storage period influenced subsequent stems per plant more than the prior-year temperature conditions. Optimal productivity was achieved by planting during cooler establishment temperatures, followed by warmer tuberization and relatively cooler bulking temperatures. Diurnal temperature variations and growing degree days had minimal effects on stems per plant, whereas storage duration (chronological age) and temperature significantly impacted physiological aging. These findings help growers optimize planting times to enhance tuber storability and yield to improve end use. Full article

Plants of two potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties ‘Spunta’ (mid-early maturity) and ‘Kensa’ (mid-late maturity) were subjected to three nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization regimes, with T1 optimal rates (as recommended by the Tunisian Potato Technical Centre), T2 high rates (+25% of T1), and T3 low rates (−25% of T1). Plant growth, yield components, chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo, Fm, Fv/Fm), photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), real evapotranspiration (RET), and biochemical parameters in mature leaves and tubers (total soluble sugars (TSSs) and starch in both leaves and tubers) were evaluated. Our results showed a significant effect of fertilizer rates on plant growth, physiological, yield, and quality traits, as well as on biochemical contents of leaves and tubers, as well as on the variety. The application of high rates (T2) resulted in increased chlorophyll fluorescence (Fo) and high ratios of Fv/Fm, and it reduced Fm and photosynthetic active radiation (PAR). The highest yield per plant (615.4 g of tubers) and average number of tubers/plant (6.44) were observed in cv. ‘Spunta’ subjected to optimal fertilizer rate (T1), while more than 50% of tubers of this variety were classified as size C1 (>50 mm). On the other hand, high rates (T2) increased the yield per plant (436.74 g; approximately 9.3% compared to T1) and the number of tubers per plant (5.70) in cv. ‘Kensa’, with approximately 56% of tubers being classified in the C1 category. High rates also increased sucrose and starch content in tubers, regardless of the variety, without being significantly different from the other fertilization regimes. In conclusion, our results provide important information regarding the effect of fertilization practice on potato growth and yield parameters and the biochemical composition of leaves and tubers. Therefore, it could be suggested that the application of reduced NPK rates (−25% of optimal rates) in mid-early varieties (namely cv. ‘Spunta’) could reduce the production cost without compromising yield and quality components. Full article

Given the widespread micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations, crop biofortification has been proposed as a solution to increase nutrient concentrations. This study aimed to determine the effect of combining biofortification strategies on the agronomic characteristics and nutritional composition of potato. The effect of foliar fertilization (FF) with zinc (Zn) on five potato genotypes (G): four biofortified clones developed through conventional breeding with different Zn levels (high, medium, and low in Zn, and one high in Fe and Zn) and a commercial variety (‘Yungay’) were evaluated. At harvest, the number of tubers per plant, the weight of tubers per plant, and the average tuber weight were evaluated as yield components, and tuber samples were collected for micronutrient determination. For yield components, the analysis with linear mixed models showed no significant G × D interaction effects, but highly significant differences were observed among G. The Zn concentration in tubers showed a highly significant effect in the G × D interaction. The simple effects analysis showed that biofortified genotypes responded to FF with Zn by significantly increasing the tuber Zn concentrations by an average of 43% (range 28–61%), despite growing in alkaline soils. In contrast, the ‘Yungay’ variety showed a 6% increase. Clones biofortified through conventional genetic improvement responded better to agronomic FF with Zn compared to the non-biofortified commercial variety, demonstrating that both are synergistic strategies that can achieve a significant increase in Zn concentrations in tubers. The result of this study might be used to further biofortification efforts and decrease nutritional deficiencies. Full article

Straw mulching cultivation technology can improve the soil environment of farmland, and it is applied in the dry farming area of Northwestern China. There are few studies on the effect of corn straw mulching on the soil temperature and yield of potato fields in dry land in Northwestern China. In this paper, three treatments, black film ridge (HM), corn straw mulching mechanized no-tillage planting (JG) and no-covering open field flat planting (CK), were set up in the period of 2022 to 2023. A field plot experiment was carried out to determine the soil temperature, growth index, and yield data during the key growth period. The statistical analysis results show that JG and HM significantly increased the potato yield, by 12.27~18.30% and 13.09~18.10%, compared with CK, but there was no significant difference between JG and HM. The yield was significantly positively correlated with tuber weight per plant at the tuber expansion stage, starch accumulation stage, and harvest stage (0.47 *~0.60 **), and significantly negatively correlated with the number of tubers at the harvest stage (−0.54 *). Compared with CK, HM increased the average soil temperature over the whole growth period by 0.27~0.92 °C. In 2022, the increase in the 5 cm soil layer in the tuber expansion period was the largest, reaching 0.83 °C. In 2023, the increase in the 5 cm soil layer in the starch accumulation period was the largest, reaching 3.08 °C. JG reduced the soil temperature over the whole growth period by 0.52 °C, and the 20 cm soil layer in the tuber formation period decreased the most, reaching 1.45 °C, which aggravated the soil temperature change over the whole growth period (the amplitude was 4.13~4.53 °C). The temperature difference between day and night in different growth periods in 2022 was 2.14~5.41 °C, and the soil temperature in some growth periods in 2022 even exceeded that with HM. The results showed that JG could regulate soil temperature and optimize the relationship between tuber weight per plant, tuber number per plant, and biomass allocation during tuber formation, which are beneficial for the improvement of the potato yield in the dry farming area of Northwestern China. Full article

Potato–legume intercropping has been confirmed to increase productivity in modern agricultural systems. However, the physiological and ecological mechanisms of potato–soybean intercropping for promoting tuber yield formation in potato remain unclear. Field experiments were conducted in 2022 and 2023 to explore the responses of tuber yield formation, rhizosphere soil quality, root growth, and plant physiology of potato in potato–soybean intercropping. The soil at the experimental site is Cambisols. The treatments included sole cropping potato, sole cropping soybean, and potato–soybean intercropping. Our results indicated that potato –soybean intercropping decreased the water content, increased the total K content and activities of urease and catalase in rhizosphere soil, and enhanced the root mean diameter, root projected area, and root length density in the 0–5 cm and 15–20 cm soil layers of potato. Moreover, potato–soybean intercropping improved the plant photosynthetically active radiation and light transmittance rate of the middle and lower layers as well as the leaf area index, enhanced the leaf chlorophyll b content and ribulose-1,5-diphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activity, and increased the leaf net photosynthetic rate and organ dry matter accumulation amounts of potato. The changes in the above parameters resulted in an increased tuber weight per plant (19.4%) and commercial tuber number (42.5%) and then enhanced the equivalent tuber yield of potato (38.2%) and land equivalent ratio (1.31 in 2022 and 1.33 in 2023). Overall, potato–soybean intercropping greatly increased the equivalent tuber yield by improving the rhizosphere soil quality, root growth, and plant physiology of potato and then achieved a higher land equivalent ratio. Full article

This study selected two sweet potato varieties as research subjects and conducted a field experiment using a two-factor design with two potassium (K) levels (K0 and K1) and five nitrogen (N) levels (N0–N4). The physiological changes in sweet potato leaves under different N and K treatments were measured, and nutrients such as the soluble sugar, protein, and starch content of sweet potato roots were analyzed. The results indicate that the activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) and the soluble protein content in sweet potato leaves increase first and then decrease with increasing N application, while K application can significantly increase the activity of GS and the soluble protein content. The N metabolic capacity of leaves is strongest when the fertilizer ratio is K1N2. The SPAD value of sweet potato leaves increases with increasing N application. The net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and intercellular CO₂ concentration first increase and then decrease with increasing N application. K fertilizer has a significant effect on these parameters. As the N application rate increases, the starch and protein content in the tubers increase, while the soluble sugar content decreases. However, the number of tubers per plant, fresh weight of the tubers, and dry weight of the tubers increase initially and then decrease, while the vine length continuously increases. The application of K fertilizer can significantly increase the number of tubers per plant and stem thickness of sweet potato. In conclusion, the appropriate N–K combined application can promote N metabolism, enhance the photosynthetic capacity of sweet potato, increase yield, and improve quality. Full article

To explore the yield-increasing mechanism of mechanized potato planting with corn straw mulching, a two-year (2021 and 2022) field experiment was conducted to study the effects of mechanized no-tillage with straw mulching on potato yield and water use efficiency. This experiment included mechanized no-tillage potato planting with corn straw mulch covering (JG), plastic film mulching (HM), and open flat planting (CK). The results showed that mechanical no-tillage with straw mulching significantly affected soil water content in the 0–100 cm soil layer, yield, and water use efficiency (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in yield between JG and HM, but it was significantly higher than that of CK. The yield of JG was 3.09~12.27% higher than that of CK. The yield increase was mainly achieved by increasing the potato weight per plant (0.697~0.862 **) and the average single potato weight (0.048~0.631). The tuber weight per plant was positively correlated with the plant height at the seedling stage (0.03~0.92 **) and positively correlated with the dry weight of stems and leaves at the tuber expansion stage and starch accumulation stage (0.74 **~0.95 **). It was negatively correlated with the number of branches at the tuber formation stage (−0.33~−0.88 **). Compared with CK, JG could significantly improve the water use efficiency of potatoes and reduce water consumption during the whole growth period of crops. In 2021, JG was 6.5% higher than CK, and HM was 6.88% lower than CK. In 2022, JG and HM increased water use efficiency by 26.17% and 14.50% compared with CK. When HM is applied in heavy soil areas, soil compaction can easily occur, which affects seedling emergence and reduces yield. At the same time, JG has strong adaptability to soil types and good yield stability. It can be seen that JG is a green and efficient mechanized potato cultivation technology suitable for dry farming areas. Full article

Drought may considerably decrease the growth and yield of potatoes. Small tubers may have lower performance and be more sensitive to abiotic stresses than larger tubers. Since an increase in drought areas may be expected, the development of potato varieties with drought tolerance has become necessary. Two-year greenhouse experiments were conducted to test the drought tolerance of potato breeding lines (C103, C107, C20) with great osmotic stress tolerance. Minitubers with diameters of 25–35, 20–24, 15–19 and 10–14 mm were planted. Treatments were the optimal irrigated control (100%) and moderate and severe drought (60% and 20% of optimum water supply). To study the after-effects of drought, tubers from different treatments were planted separately the following year because seed tuber priming may increase drought tolerance. Seed tubers (25–35 mm), two irrigation treatments (control and severe drought), and two control cultivars were used in the second year. We observed the rate of emergence from day-after-planting (DAP) 20 to 30 and flowering from 48 to 54. NDVI measurements were performed on the DAP35-45-75. Plant height and fresh weight of aboveground biomass (AGB) were recorded on DAP76. Harvested tubers were counted, weighed, and size-categorized, and then the number and fresh tuber yield per plant (TN and TY) were calculated. Stress indices (SI) were calculated as percentages of the results of control plots to compare the responses of genotypes to drought stress. We found that each breeding line showed adequate drought tolerance, although only the C103 and C107 breeding lines were stable in in vivo conditions. SI values for tuber number/tuber yield were 103/57; 102/63; 83/52; 80/58 and 55/41 in C103, C107, C20, ‘Boglárka’ and ‘Desiree’ (the last two were control varieties), respectively. The size of the seed tuber significantly affected each character, and usually minitubers larger than 20 mm performed better than smaller ones. No significant after-effect of drought stress on the next generation was found. Although we found a positive correlation (r = 0.83) between NDVI values and yield parameters, the correlations in our study were not consistent in all genotypes and water treatments. Full article

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the main non-grain agricultural crops and one of the main sources of food for humanity. Currently, growing potatoes requires new approaches and methods for cultivation and breeding. Phenotyping is one of the important tools for assessing the characteristics of a potato variety. In this work, 29 potato varieties of different ripeness groups were studied. Linear leaf dimensions, leaf mass area, number of stems, number of tubers per plant, average tuber weight, signs of virus infection, dry weight, pigment content, and number of stomata per unit leaf area were used as phenotyping tools. The strongest positive relationship was found between yield and bush area in the stage of full shoots (R = 0.77, p = 0.001), linear dimensions of a complex leaf (R = 0.44, p = 0.002; R = 0.40, p = 0.003), number of stems (R = 0.36, p = 0.05), and resistance to viruses X (R = 0.42, p = 0.03) and S (R = 0.43, p = 0.02). An inverse relationship was found between growth dynamics and yield (R = −0.29, p = 0.05). Thus, the use of morphological and physiological phenotyping tools in the field is informative for predicting key agricultural characteristics such as yield and/or stress resistance. Full article

Heat stress during the potato growing season reduces tuber marketable yield and quality. Tuber quality deterioration includes external (heat sprouts, chained tubers, knobs) and internal (vascular discoloration, hollow heart, internal heat necrosis) tuber defects, as well as a reduction in their specific gravity and increases in reducing sugars that result in suboptimal (darker) processed products (french fries and chips). Successfully cultivating potatoes under heat-stress conditions requires planting heat-tolerant varieties that can produce high yields of marketable tubers, few external and internal tuber defects, high specific gravity, and low reducing sugars (in the case of processing potatoes). Heat tolerance is a complex trait, and understanding its genetic basis will aid in developing heat-tolerant potato varieties. A panel of 217 diverse potato clones was evaluated for yield and quality attributes in Dalhart (2019 and 2020) and Springlake (2020 and 2021), Texas, and genotyped with the Infinium 22 K V3 Potato Array. A genome-wide association study was performed to identify genomic regions associated with heat-tolerance traits using the GWASpoly package. Quantitative trait loci were identified on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 11 for external defects and on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 10, and 11 for internal defects. Yield-related quantitative trait loci were detected on chromosomes 1, 6, and 10 pertaining to the average tuber weight and tuber number per plant. Genomic-estimated breeding values were calculated using the StageWise package. Clones with low genomic-estimated breeding values for tuber defects were identified as donors of good traits to improve heat tolerance. The identified genomic regions associated with heat-tolerance attributes and the genomic-estimated breeding values will be helpful to develop new potato cultivars with enhanced heat tolerance in potatoes. Full article

Potato is an important food crop worldwide. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are widely involved in plant growth and development, and BIN2 (brassinosteroid insensitive 2) is the negative regulator of their signal transduction. However, the function of BIN2 in the formation of potato tubers remains unclear. In this study, transgenic methods were used to regulate the expression level of StBIN2 in plants, and tuber related phenotypes were analyzed. The overexpression of StBIN2 significantly increased the number of potatoes formed per plant and the weight of potatoes in transgenic plants. In order to further explore the effect of StBIN2 on the formation of potato tubers, this study analyzed BRs, ABA hormone signal transduction, sucrose starch synthase activity, the expression levels of related genes, and interacting proteins. The results show that the overexpression of StBIN2 enhanced the downstream transmission of ABA signals. At the same time, the enzyme activity of the sugar transporter and the expression of synthetic genes were increased in potato plants overexpressing StBIN2, which also demonstrated the upregulation of sucrose and the expression of the starch synthesis gene. Apparently, StBIN2 affected the conversion and utilization of key substances such as glucose, sucrose, and starch in the process of potato formation so as to provide a material basis and energy preparation for forming potatoes. In addition, StBIN2 also promoted the expression of the tuber formation factors StSP6A and StS6K. Altogether, this investigation enriches the study on the mechanism through which StBIN2 regulates potato tuber formation and provides a theoretical basis for achieving a high and stable yield of potato. Full article