Evaluation of nutrient solution phosphorus concentration on potato plantlet tuber production under greenhouse conditions¹

Abstract

Phosphorus fertilizer management of greenhouse grown micropropagated potato plantlets has been based on field research. Differences in growing conditions, potting media and the planting material itself may make the field research data base unacceptable in a greenhouse environment. This study was conducted to determine the optimum nutrient solution phosphorus (P) concentration for maximum growth and yield of micropropagated potato plantlets grown under greenhouse conditions. Nutrient solution P concentrations ranging from 0 to 55 μg P/ml were evaluated. Each nutrient solution P concentration was applied weekly to micropropagated potato plantlets that were grown in 80% vermiculite-20% sand potting medium. Results indicate that P concentrations between 10 and 35 μg P/ml are optimum for potato plantlet tuber production. This P concentration range maximizes vegetative weight, total 1 Paper number 89-7-23 of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment station. TUKAKI AND MAHLERtuber weight and number of tubers produced per micropropagated potato plantlet. Data further indicated that the potting medium retained and possibly accumulated P from the weekly applied nutrient solution. This enabled the plants, receiving relatively low nutrient solution P concentrations, to extract more P for proper growth and yield with time. To avoid unnecessary nutrient costs, the 15 μg P/ml nutrient solution concentration is recommended. This P concentration will produce maximum tuber yields and still allow for less than optimum management which may cause P conversion to unavailable forms. Additional studies should be conducted to correlate plant tissue concentration at different growth stages with final tuber yields. INTRODUCTIONThe scientific literature contains ample reports on potato (Solatium tubero sum L.) fertilization and the effect of fertilization on yield, tuber quality and plant tuber composition. However, the data are often inconsistent and/or incomplete at maximum yield levels (1). Most research has focused on nitrogen (N) because it is most often deficient. However, the wide-spread use of substantial quantities of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizers have ensured that many potato producing soils have accumulated P and K to the point where crops do not respond to further P and K additions (2). In contrast to most other plant nutrients, no mechanism for long-term storage of plant-available N exists in soils. Although ammonium-nitrogen (NH 4 + -N) is

Heavy Metals Accumulation and Health Risk Consumption in Some Vegetables, Isfahan, Iran

“…Moreover, T Levels of Cu and Zn in fruits and vegetables did not also appear to expose serious health problems (43). Another study (44,45) also showed that P fertilizers might cause a linear increase in P concentration of plants. Therefore, the higher amount of P in plants in this study might be due to the extreme application of chemical P fertilizers.…”

Determination of a Multivariate Indicator of Nitrogen Imbalance (MINI) in Potato Using Reflectance and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

“…The growing medium was a mix of 0.8 L L −1 vermiculite (Fafard et Frères Inc., Quebec, Canada) and 0.2 L L −1 quartz sand (Unimin Corp., New Canaan, CT, USA), washed with demineralized water before planting (Tukaki and Mahler, 1990). From emergence to the end of experiment, control plants were fertilized using a complete mineral solution made of Ca(NO 3 ) 2 ·4H 2 O, MgSO 4 ·7H 2 O, CaCl 2 , KH 2 PO 4, KNO 3 , Fe chelate (13.3%), Mn chelate, borax, Zn chelate, Cu chelate, and Na 2 MoO 4 ·2H 2 O and corresponding to 100% of nutrient in mineral solution (160 mg N L −1 , 29 mg P L −1 , 234 mg K L −1 , 160 mg Ca L −1 , 48 mg Mg L −1 , 62 mg S L −1 , 1.83 mg Fe L −1 , 0.5 mg Mn L −1 , 0.5 mg B L −1 , 0.05 mg Zn L −1 , 0.02 mg Cu L −1 , and 0.01 mg Mn L −1 ) (Tukaki and Mahler, 1990). To induce mineral deficiencies, other plants received modified mineral solutions providing 15, 30, or 60% of total N, K, or Mg concentrations received by the control treatment.…”

Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging reveals genetic variation and loci for a photosynthetic trait in diploid potato

“…Yield stability under environmental stresses, is an important focus for potato breeding, as potato is considered to be especially sensitive to osmotic stresses like drought (Vasquez‐Robinet et al ) or salt stress (Bilski et al ). Other environmental factors that can impact the productivity of potato are low temperature (Chen and Li , Kikuchi et al ) and nutritional deficiencies, such as phosphate (Tukaki and Mahler , Westermann et al ). Only a few studies have so far made use of CF imaging techniques for stress quantification in different potato genotypes.…”