Obtaining high quality potato seed material on aerohydroponic installations

Abstract

The results of the study on the production of potato minitubers by aeroponic and aero-hydroponic methods, which are non-substrate methods of growing plants, are presented. In order to develop technologies for growing virus-free potato seed material in closed systems, experiments on growing potato minitubers in multiuse aeroponic systems were conducted. Early-ripening potato varieties Rosara, Antonina and Yubilyar, mid-ripening Solnechny variety, and S-112 and Ch hybrids were used as the tested potato varieties. The plant growing cycle was divided into three phases: adaptation, growth, and tuberization. For each phase, different cultivation parameters were used. As a light source, highpressure sodium lamps DNaT 400 were used. The quantitative yield of potato minitubers per one plant on this type of systems was as follows: Antonina variety – 15.3 pcs., Yubilyar variety – 23 pcs., Hybrid Ch – 28.1 pcs., Hybrid S-112 – 30.2 pcs., Solnechny variety – 30.3 pcs., Rosara variety – 43.9 pcs. The effect of various light sources on the quantitative yield of potato minitubers of Nevsky and Yubilyar varieties was studied for this type of systems. Cultivation of potatoes in these systems was carried out according to the technology described, but using two different types of light sources. In the control variant, high-pressure sodium lamps DNaT 400 were used, in the experimental variant, LED lamps produced by CoB (full spectrum) technology with a passive cooling system were used. The use of LED lighting on Nevsky variety led to a statistically signifi cant increase in the quantitative yield of potato minitubers from one plant compared to the control, by 20.88%. The prospects of using Fagro aero-hydroponic systems for adaptation of potato microplants and for obtaining potato minitubers of Rosara and Solnechny varieties were shown. The quantitative yield of potato minitubers per plant on this type of installations was 46.9 pcs. for Rosara variety, and 56.7 pcs. for Solnechny.