Aim: To establish and quantify the effects of key environmental and agronomic factors affecting the number of tubers per mainstem in potatoes relating seed age and seed weight to the production of stems and tubers in the most widely grown varieties.
New seed rate guidelines for Estima were published in 2007. These are based on research carried out at Cambridge University Farm and ensure that more of the crop reaches a grower’s target tuber size. This requires the optimum stem density, that will deliver both the yield and number of tubers required, to be known. This is relates to both seed size and age, and the information for Estima was obtained through the work at CUF
This three year project, which began in January 2008, will now bring the industry similar recommendations for another nine of Britain’s most popular varieties (Pentland Dell, Marfona, King Edward, Russet Burbank, Maris Piper, Maris Peer, Hermes, Saturna and Lady Rosetta).
Reports and Key Words
