Effect of Perforated Film And Polypropylene Nonwoven Covering On The Marketable Value of Early Potato Yield

Abstract

SummaryThe effect of cover material (perforated polyethylene film, polypropylene nonwoven) and date of its removal (2 and 3 weeks after plant emergence) on the marketable value of the yield of early potato cultivar (Aksamitka, Cykada) was investigated. Potatoes were harvested 60 and 75 days after planting, in the second and third decade of June. Plant vegetation forcing by covering resulted in an increase in the marketable tuber yield (diameter >30 mm) and improved marketable value due to a reduced share of small tubers, with the diameter of 31-40 mm, especially at a very early date of potato harvest. In potato cultivation for very early crop, the cover material had a greater effect on the tuber yield and its marketable value than the length of plant covering period. Perforated film was a better kind of cover than polypropylene nonwoven, especially in the year with cold spring. At the delayed date of potato harvest the marketable tuber yield depended, to a higher degree on the date of cover removal. Higher yield was obtained when the cover was removed 2 weeks after plant emergence.

Using non-woven polypropylene covers in potato production: a review

“…Leaving the cover over the plants for too late after emergence can hinder the development of leaf assimilation area and reduce the number of setting tubers. In conditions of eastcentral Poland, the length of plant covering period (two or three weeks after plant emergence) did not have any significant effect on the tuber yield 60 days after planting, while for the harvest date delayed by two weeks, the yield was higher when the covers were removed two weeks after plant emergence (Wadas et al, 2008b).…”

“…A similar increase in the early tuber yield of potato was obtained in the central part of Poland (Lutomirska, 1995). In a later study carried out in east-central Poland (Wadas et al, 2008b), 60 days after planting (9-16 June), the marketable tuber yield of early-maturing potato cultivars using nonwoven polypropylene was higher, on average, by up to 5.82 t*ha -1 (81%). In south-eastern Poland (the Lublin region), the average tuber yield increase as a result of non-woven polypropylene covering amounted to 7.34 t*ha -1 (72%) 60 days after planting (8-15 June) and 5.51 t*ha -1 (22.5%) at harvest two weeks later (Pszczółkowski and Sawicka, 1999).…”

“…The application of a non-woven polypropylene cover in the new potato production assures not only a higher tuber yield, but also contributes to improvement in its marketable value due to a decreased share of small tubers, with a diameter below 30 mm, and a simultaneous increased share of large tubers in the yield, with a diameter above 50 mm (Ban et al, 2011;Prośba-Białczyk and Mydlarski, 1998;Pszczółkowski and Sawicka, 2003;Pytlarz-Kozicka, 2011;Rekowska et al, 1999;Rębarz et al, 2015;Wadas et al, 2001Wadas et al, , 2008b). …”

“…Pszczółkowski and Sawicka, 1999;g Rekowska et al, 1999;h Prośba-Białczyk and Mydlarski, 1998;i Bhullar, 2012. A higher increase of tuber yield as a result of applying the cover is obtained in years with less favourable thermal conditions in the initial period of potato growth. In eastcentral Poland in years with very cold springs, covering the crops with nonwoven polypropylene made it possible to obtain, 60 days after planting, up to four times higher marketable tuber yield than in cultivation without covering (Jabłońska-Ceglarek and Wadas et al, 2008b), whereas in the central part of Czech Republic, potato cultivation under non-woven polypropylene in a year with an exceptionally cold spring resulted in six times higher marketable tuber yield 60 days after planting (Dvořák et al, 2004;Hamouz et al, 2005).…”

“…The application of non-woven polypropylene covers assures a high yield of potato tubers at an early harvest date, provided that the covers are removed at the proper time Lutomirska and Szutkowska, 1999;Wadas et al, 2008b). The covers are often removed two to three weeks after plant emergence.…”