IMPROVEMENTS OF POTATO YIELDS

Successful crop production requires efficient use of the climatic resources of solar radiation, temperature and water.
Potato yield improvements can be achieved through better plant characteristics, obtained either through breeding or through better growing conditions, both in the soil and above ground.
Simple static and dynamic models can provide the basis for an analytical framework to identify the effects of environmental variables on dry matter production.

Following the model of light interception by the crop canopy, the strategy to achieve higher potato yields can be summarised as follows: "It is essential to establish a crop canopy capable of intercepting most of the incident radiation as rapidly as possible, to maintain that canopy assimilating efficiently for as long as possible and to maximise the harvest index.
Further, harvest and storage losses should be minimised". The effects of the environmental factors on the leaf growth and its efficiency are discussed.
The implications of the above analysis to plant breeders and farmers are also considered.
Finally, the contribution of agrometeorology towards the implementation of the above strategy is summarised.

Agrometeorology of the Potato Crop

S.M. Pashiardis

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1988.214.1