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Dimante I. (2021). Evaluation of possibilities to increase efficiency of potato minituber production. Research paper to obtain for the Ph.D. in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. Jelgava, 149 p. Laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments were carried out at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics, Priekuli Research Center from 2013 to 2017. Hypothesis of the thesis The agronomic efficiency of potato minituber production can be increased without significant financial and technological investment, but the most agronomically efficient growing technology is not always the most cost-effective. The aim of the thesis To evaluate the possibilities of improving the efficiency of potato minituber production by changing the planting density of microplants in the greenhouse to ensure a high yield of high-quality seed potato of the first category under field conditions. Research tasks 1. To assess the effect of increasing the microplant planting density on the number of minitubers of different varieties in the greenhouse. 2. To assess the effect of minituber size on the development of plants and seed yield of different potato varieties under field conditions. 3. To determine the field value of the greenhouse unit area and of one microplant depending on the microplant planting density. 4. To evaluate the economic efficiency of changes in microplant densities (minituber growing technology) in a greenhouse. 5. To examine the effects of the propagation method of microplants on the morphology of microplants and the subsequent effects on the number and yield of minitubers in a greenhouse. The structure of the research paper Chapter 1 - The literature review includes 6 subchapters. A brief overview of potato growth, development and yield formation is provided in the chapter. Insights into the history of the formation of seed potato production systems are given, and potato micropropagation methods and minituber cultivation technologies are examined. Plant growth and development specifically from minitubers under field conditions are described. The approaches used to evaluate the efficiency of tuber cultivation are briefly described. Chapter 2 - Materials and Methods includes 6 subchapters. The chapter describes the methodology of the experiments, the studied material, the observations and analyses performed, the meteorological conditions and the data analysis. Chapter 3 - The results and discussion include 5 subsections. This chapter analyses the agronomic efficiency of minituber production depending on the microplant planting density in the greenhouse. The field performance of minitubers depending on their size and data on the field value of the greenhouse unit area and of one microplant were assessed. The evaluation of the economic efficiency of changes in minituber growing technology has been performed. The effects of the propagation method of microplants on the morphology of potato microplants and the subsequent effects on the number and yield of minitubers in the greenhouse were examined. The conclusions include answers to the research tasks. The paper contains 22 tables, 38 figures, 33 annexes and 342 references.

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Potato proteins contains essential amino acids in considerably high concentration, therefore potatoes are considered to be one of the most valuable plant origin food for human consumption. Patatin forms one of the largest group of potato proteins with high potential to be used in food industry as a novel food. This study has been performed to approbate patatin determination method for evaluation of protein quality of potato genotypes, as well as evaluate patatin relative abundance (PRA) for breeding programmes to create in the future potato cultivars with higher value and potential to develop new products. The evaluation of patatin was performed in following steps– extraction proteins from potato, determination of patatin concentration and calculation of its relative abundance in proteins. Separation of patatin from potato tubers was made using extraction by SDS extraction buffer and determination of patatin in organically and conventionally (with differnt N suply) grown samples of 20 potato genotypes. The results of one-year study showed that patatin relative abundance of different cultivars varied from 1.65% to 50.2% and it was significantly different among genotypes. The nitrogen content of soil and maturity type of potato did not affect PRA significantly. Results provide impetus for further research.