Potato Clonal Variation with Respect to the Relation between Fruit Set and Tuber Yield

Abstract

Although fruiting may have some physiolo-gical influence on vegetative growth or yield in some crops, there are few and conflicting observations concerning the relation between fruiting and tuber yield in potatoes. Bartholdi [2] studied the influence of flowering and fruit-ing upon vegetative growth and tuber yield in four selected potato cultivars (Russet Rural, Irish Cobbler, Minn 5-10-1-4-2, and Minn 5-2-4-2). He found that both flowering and fruiting caused significant reduction in vegeta-tive growth and tuber yield in all the cultivars he used. Possible effects of fruiting on tuber yield in some cultivars of andigena (Solanum andigenum) have also been observed by de la Puente (personal communication) in Peru. However, other results indicate that fruiting does not have any significant effect on tuber yield in potato. Working in reciprocal crosses between andigena and tuberosum clones in Ithaca, Cornell, Cubelios (personal communi-cation) found no effect of fruiting on tuber yield. Newman and Leonian [7] and Young [11] working with the cultivar Lookout Moun-tain found no definite correlation between seed production and yield of tubers. Stout and Clark [9] also found no difference in tuber yields between flowering and non-flowering plants of potato. Results obtained by Arthur et al. [1] also indicate that flowering does not have any effect on tuber production. In fact, they secured some of the best tuber yields from plants that bloomed profusely. An old idea that non-fruiting is due to tuber development was refuted by Werner [10]. He found no evidence that there is any relation between the extent of flower production and tuber production. He explained that elongation of the potato plant is genetically limited to a fairly definite number of nodes. As a result of differentiation of these nodes, the primordium of an inflorescence is initiated, but whether it develops entirely, part way, or hardly at all, is dependent upon the physiological conditions within the plant. According to Werner [10], this internal condition is a result of the external environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of fruiting on tuber yield.