The effect of year and genotype on productivity and quality of potato

• Published in: Genetika (Beograd) Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 649 - 676
• Main Authors: Postic, Dobrivoj, Waxman, Addie, Brocic, Zoran, Djuric, Nenad, Strbanovic, Ratibor, Stanojkovic-Sebic, Aleksandra, Stanisavljevic, Rade
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• ISSN: 0534-0012; 1820-6069
• DOI: 10.2298/GENSR2202649P

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is characterized by specific temperature
requirements and develops best at about 20?C. High temperatures during the
growing season cause an array of changes in potato plants, which affect its
development and may lead to a drastic reduction in economic yield. Under
natural conditions, drought and heat stress are two different types of
abiotic stresses that occur in the field simultaneously or separately,
especially in conditions without irrigation in potato production. This study
aimed to examine the productivity of nine potato varieties in
agro-ecological conditions of western Serbia and to find the genotypes that
will give satisfactory and high yields. The field experiment was carried out
with varieties: Cleopatra, Anuschka, Presto, Kuroda, Omega, Dita, Desiree,
Roko and Jelly. The impact year and genotype on potato plants were tested
during a four-year period (2010-2013). The final harvest was performed after
the full maturity of plants in September. Our studies confirmed that potato
marketable yield and total yield are greatly reduced at temperatures higher
than optimal and deficit precipitation during the growing season. Here we
demonstrated that the tested potato cultivar?s response to heat stress and
drought in the growing season is dependent on the longer the adverse effects
and the growth stage. The earlier a heat and drought occurs, the more
negative the impact on the growth and productive traits of potatoes. The
results obtained in this study indicate that among the tested cultivars
Cleopatra was the most tolerant to heat and drought stress acting on the
plants during the growing season. Our research shows that the total yield
was not the only indicator of potato tolerance to abiotic stress during the
growing season, but the assessment should also take into account the
occurrence of secondary tuberization and physiological defects of tubers.
These studies confirm that Cleopatra had the largest share (82%) of market
tubers in relation to the total yield and to have the best predisposition
for the highest economic yield of tubers. Our experiment showed that heat
and drought tolerant potato cultivars could be used to mitigate the effects
of global warming in Serbia and wider Western Balkans regions.