Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: April 8, 2008
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract:
Potato stem density influences growth, canopy formation and tuber yield. However, canopy development in response to different planting densities has not been completely characterized. In addition, many potato studies conducted in controlled environments restrict growth of planted seed tubers to a single mainstem. The assumption in such studies is that observations of potato growth from a single mainstem will be compatible with field studies where multiple mainstems typically form. In order to test this assumption and characterize differences in canopy growth and development, two 60 day experiments were conducted in six Daylit growth chambers with potatoes maintained at single, double, or triple mainstems per seedpiece and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of either ambient (400 ppm) or double ambient (800 ppm). Measurements of whole plant gas exchange, light interception, leaf and branch appearance rates, leaf expansion rates, and dry matter production were used to assess differences between stem densities at the different carbon dioxide concentrations. The results indicate that growth and development between single and multiple stemmed tubers is similar at either carbon dioxide concentration level. The data can also be used to improve carbon allocation modeling in indeterminate plant species.
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