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Title: Potato germplasm evaluation for phosphorus uptake efficiency

Author
item LEE, WEI CHIEH - University Of Florida
item LIU, GUODONG - University Of Florida
item Alva, Ashok

Submitted to: Journal of Crop Improvement
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/8/2013
Publication Date: 12/20/2013
Citation: Lee, W., Liu, G., Alva, A.K. 2013. Potato germplasm evaluation for phosphorus uptake efficiency. Journal of Crop Improvement. 27:617-626.

Interpretive Summary: Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient, supplied to the soil in the form of fertilizers made using phosphate rock which is a non-renewable resource. Due to rapid increase in use of P fertilizer to support increasing food and feed production for growing world population, the phosphate rock is expected to be depleted in the next 60-100 years. To cope with this potential problem it is necessary to develop alternate strategies. Improving P use efficiency of the crop is one such strategy to cope depleting P raw material. In this study seven chipping potato cultivars were evaluated for P use efficiency. The study showed that Harley Blackwell and Satina cultivars showed greater P mobilization in soils hence are most efficient under P stress. Identification of bio diversity in potato germplasm with respect P use efficiency is important to develop potato varieties with increasing use efficiency to cope with the potential shortage of P fertilizers.

Technical Abstract: As a non-renewable mineral resource, mineable phosphate rock will be depleted in a few decades over the world. Efficient use of phosphorus (P) becomes imperative for sustainable crop production. Use of P-efficient cultivars can lead to reduced P fertilizer consumption and is an important priority to adapt to the dwindling P resource worldwide and to sustain food security. A pot experiment was conducted at the University of Florida, IFAS Research Farm in Hastings, FL with seven potato cultivars; including ‘Atlantic’, ‘Harley Blackwell’, ‘La Chipper’, ‘Marcy’, ‘Satina’, ‘Red Lasoda’, and ‘Yukon gold’, grown on a low P sandy soil without P application or with 59 kg /ha P to compare the cultivars’ ability for P utilization and mobilization. This study demonstrated that ‘Harley Blackwell’ and ‘Satina’ showed greater P mobilization ability in soils without supplemental P. ‘Red Lasoda’ showed greater P-utilization of bioavailable P as compared to the other cultivars. The biodiversity of potato germplasm in mobilization of insoluble phosphate and utilization of limited bioavailable P was demonstrated in this study; however, further studies are needed to evaluate this trend using a large pool of germplasm. This genetic diversity for P use efficiency provides great opportunities for us to mitigate the potential P crisis in potato production.