Effects of cultivar and plant origin on the aeroponic production of potato minitubers

Abstract

Aeroponics is eco-friendly, soilless technology for the cultivation of vegetable plants that can be used for the production of pathogen-free pre-basic seed potato, namely minitubers. In aeroponic modules, the underground parts of potato plants grow suspended in the mist of finely dispersed nutrient solution to produce tubers, while the shoots grow above the module under greenhouse conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the cultivar and origin of planting material on the minituber production in an aeroponic faility in Guča, Serbia. Two potato cultivars, Sinora and Agria, and two types of planting material, acclimated microplants and plants originating from sprouted minitubers, were used in the study. Plants were grown in the 2019 season with a planting density of 24 plants per m2 and ~14-day harvest intervals. Agria plants of both plant origins steadily tuberized during most of the cultivation period and formed a significantly larger number of minitubers (13.61) compared to cultivar Sinora (3.35), which quickly completed the growth cycle. In both investigated cultivars, the mass of formed minitubers was significantly higher in the plants originating from minitubers (18.80 g) compared to plants of in vitro origin (9.04 g). Agria plants of minituber origin produced the heaviest minitubers (19.05 g), while Sinora plants of in vitro origin formed the least heavy tubers (5.29 g). The highest yield of minitubers, 6.26 kg m-2, was recorded for Agria plants of minituber origin. The results of our study suggest that both plant origin and potato genotype significantly affect minituber production in aeroponics.