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The critical value of soil exchangeable potassium (K) (mg K kg −1 ) is a valuable tool for an efficient K fertilization management in potato production systems. The aim of the present study was to determine the critical value of soil exchangeable K for potato crops grown in different environments and differing availabilities of initial exchangeable K. The data used in this study were taken from 34 experiments on K fertilization conducted in southern Chile from 1977 to 2017 by the National Potato Center at the Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA). Yield responses to K fertilization rates were assessed with linear-plateau and Mitscherlich models in order to determine the critical soil exchangeable K across environments. Across experiments, the average fresh tuber yield ranged between 18 and 91 Mg ha −1 . Fresh tuber yields decreased by up to 70% when no K fertilization was applied. Yield reduction was concentrated around 25% in response to K deficiency. Relative yields were described as significant by both linear-plateau and Mitscherlich models. However, relative yields were better described by the linear-plateau model ( p <  0.01, R 2  = 0.62; SEE  = 0.11). The critical soil exchangeable K value identified with the linear-plateau model was 224 mg K kg −1 . This critical K value will be useful for potato farmers that produce their crops in volcanic soils, such as Andisols. Moreover, this critical K value will help to increase K use efficiency through better K fertilization management strategies aimed at building and/or maintaining K levels in soils.

Present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different mulching materials on soil hydrothermal environment and plant growth parameters for potato crop at field experimental station of National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur in the humid sub-tropical agro climate of Western Himalayas. The field experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design with four mulching treatments; wheat straw mulch, pine needle mulch, rice straw mulch and no mulch in three replications. An increase in soil moisture retention ranging from 5.14% to 42% was observed depending upon the mulch material and depth of the soil layer in root zone. Mulching also reduced the daily maximum soil temperature up to 3.5ºC with an average temperature reduction of 1-2ºC during the period of tuber formation. Mulching produced beneficial effects on root depth, plant height, leaf area index and tuber yield. Mulching helped to bring about a yield surplus of 1.7-4.4 tonnes ha-1 over unmulched conditions and an increase in water use efficiency which varied from 13.5% in rice straw mulch to 34.9 % inwheat straw mulch.

Potato is the largest non-cereal food crop in the world. Timely estimation of end-of-season tuber production using in-season information can inform sustainable agricultural management decisions that increase productivity while reducing impacts on the environment. Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly popular in precision agriculture due to their flexibility in data acquisition and improved spatial and spectral resolutions. In addition, compared with natural color and multispectral imagery, hyperspectral data can provide higher spectral fidelity which is important for modelling crop traits. In this study, we conducted end-of-season potato tuber yield and tuber set predictions using in-season UAV-based hyperspectral images and machine learning. Specifically, six mainstream machine learning models, i.e., ordinary least square (OLS), ridge regression, partial least square regression (PLSR), support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), were developed and compared across potato research plots with different irrigation rates at the University of Wisconsin Hancock Agricultural Research Station. Our results showed that the tuber set could be better predicted than the tuber yield, and using the multi-temporal hyperspectral data improved the model performance. Ridge achieved the best performance for predicting tuber yield (R2 = 0.63) while Ridge and PLSR had similar performance for predicting tuber set (R2 = 0.69). Our study demonstrated that hyperspectral imagery and machine learning have good potential to help potato growers efficiently manage their irrigation practices.

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the efficiency of poultry manure enriched with oil palm refuse bunch ash (OPRBA) on the growth and yield of sweet potato in a low fertile soil. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The treatments involved five rates (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 t ha-1) of oil palm refuse bunch ash (OPRBA) in the first year of the experiment. In the second year, the treatments were 0, 4, 6, 8 and 10 t ha-1 of OPRBA. All plots were treated with a basal application of 15 t ha-1 of poultry manure. Data were collected on vine length (cm), number of branches, number of nodes, number of leaves, leaf area index (LAI) and total dry weight (g m-2) at 8 weeks after planting. Data on yield components were collected on tuber length (cm), tuber girth (cm), number of tubers, tuber size (kg), tuber weight (kg) and tuber yield (t ha-1). The results showed that vine length, number of branches, number of nodes, number of leaves and leaf area index and total dry weight increased significantly (p < 0.05) while increasing the rate of OPRBA. The highest tuber yield (50.22 t ha-1) was recorded for plants treated with 6 t ha-1 of OPRBA in 2016. In 2017, plants treated with 6, 8 and 10 t ha-1 OPRBA had the highest tuber yield (29.10, 30.00 and 32.00 t ha-1, respectively). Tuber yield correlated significantly (p < 0.05) and positively with total dry weight (r = 0.748), LAI (r = 0.938), number of branches (r = 0.679), number of leaves (r = 0.879), number of nodes (r = 0.440), number of tubers (r = 0.561), tuber girth (r = 0.751), tuber length (r = 0.864), tuber size (r = 0.952) and vine length (r = 0.940). It is therefore suggested that poultry manure at the rate of 15 t ha-1 should be enriched with OPRBA at the rate of 6 t ha-1 for optimum production of sweet potato.

Food and nutritional security are the major concerns in many countries of the world and may have potential to contribute to sustainable food systems under climate change. To address the food and nutritional insecurity, it has become extremely important to diversify the present-day agricultural system as well as to search for alternative food and feed ingredients. Some wild root and tuber crops occupy a remarkable position toward food security of the developing world due to their high calorific value and superior carbohydrate content. Yam ( spp.) provides food and medicines to millions of people in the world especially in the tropics and sub tropics. It is recognized as the fourth most important tuber crop after potatoes, cassava, and sweet potatoes. It contributes about 10% of the total root and tubers production around the world. Yams also considered as famine food and plays a prime role in the food habit of small and marginal rural families and forest-dwelling communities during the food scarcity periods. These species are unique for their food, medicinal and economic values but their wider utilization is limited due to the presence of anti-nutritional compositions. This paper describes the ethnobotany of yam species in relation to their nutritional, anti-nutritional and pharmacological properties and highlights the potentiality for food and nutritional security for combating the \"hidden hunger\" caused by micronutrient deficiencies.

Key messageIn this study we show that expression of the Arabidopsis ABF4 gene in potato increases tuber yield under normal and abiotic stress conditions, improves storage capability and processing quality of the tubers, and enhances salt and drought tolerance.Potato is the third most important food crop in the world. Potato plants are susceptible to salinity and drought, which negatively affect crop yield, tuber quality and market value. The development of new varieties with higher yields and increased tolerance to adverse environmental conditions is a main objective in potato breeding. In addition, tubers suffer from undesirable sprouting during storage that leads to major quality losses; therefore, the control of tuber sprouting is of considerable economic importance. ABF (ABRE-binding factor) proteins are bZIP transcription factors that regulate abscisic acid signaling during abiotic stress. ABF proteins also play an important role in the tuberization induction. We developed transgenic potato plants constitutively expressing the Arabidopsis ABF4 gene (35S::ABF4). In this study, we evaluated the performance of 35S::ABF4 plants grown in soil, determining different parameters related to tuber yield, tuber quality (carbohydrates content and sprouting behavior) and tolerance to salt and drought stress. Besides enhancing salt stress and drought tolerance, constitutive expression of ABF4 increases tuber yield under normal and stress conditions, enhances storage capability and improves the processing quality of the tubers.

The yield and quality of field crops are affected by abiotic stresses such as water deficit, which can negatively impact crop growth, productivity, and quality. However, nanotechnology holds great promise for increasing crop yield, maintaining quality, and thus mitigating abiotic stresses. Therefore, the current study was conducted to examine the influences of 0, 50, and 100 mg L−1 zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and 0, 25, and 50 mg L−1 silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles on the yield and quality traits of potato plants grown under water deficit conditions (100%, 75%, and 50% ETc). Water deficit significantly reduced yield traits (average tuber weight, number of plant tubers, and tuber yield) and quality traits (tuber diameter, crude protein, and mineral content). However, it enhanced tuber dry weight, specific gravity, ascorbic acid, starch, and total soluble solids. Foliar applications of ZnO and SiO2 nanoparticles under water deficit treatments significantly enhanced yield and improved quality traits of potato plants. Moreover, significant and positive correlations were found among yield traits. Thus, it can be concluded that using ZnO NPs at 100 mg L−1 significantly improves potato productivity and quality traits by mitigating the negative effects of water deficit in arid regions.

High temperature (HT) is a major environmental stress that severely inhibits potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuberisation and yield. Heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) are pivotal in plant thermotolerance, yet their roles in potato remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that overexpression of StHsfA2, a rapidly HT–responsive HSF family member, enhances thermotolerance and mitigates yield loss in transgenic potato under HT conditions. We reveal that StHsfA2 upregulates StSP6A expression by binding to the heat shock element–like motifs in its promoter. StSP6A encodes a homologue of FLOWERING LOCUS T that is critical for initiating tuber formation. Intriguingly, we found that StHsfA2 physically interacts with the StSP6A protein, which in turn inhibits StHsfA2–mediated StSP6A upregulation. However, HT stress attenuates the StHsfA2–StSP6A interaction. Thus, a negative feedback loop modulates StSP6A regulation by StHsfA2 under HT. In summary, our study shows that StHsfA2 is a key regulator of thermotolerance in potato plants. Its overexpression enhances heat resistance and could boost tuber yield, making it a promising candidate gene for countering yield loss amid global warming.

Study  was carried out during two successive summer seasons of 2021 and 2022 at private  filed  in El-Salhyia El-Gadida District, Sharkia Governorate, to study response of some potato cultivars to potassium sources as foliar application  under sandy soil conditions using pivot  irrigation system. This experiment included 25 treatments, which were the combinations between five potato cultivars (Spunta , Santana , Cara , Lady  Rosetta  and Hermes) and  four  potassium  sources treatments , i.e. spraying with potassium silicate (KSil , (potassium citrate (KCit), potassium folvate (KF) and potassium thiosulpahte (KTS) as well as control (without spraying). These treatments were arranged in a split plot design with three replicates. Potato cultivars were randomly arranged in the main plots and  potassium sources  were randomly distributed in the sub plots. Spraying Cara cultivar with KCit increased number of tubers/ plant and total  yield /hectare, whereas  spraying  Spunta  cultivar with KCit increased average tuber weight in both seasons. While, spraying Hermes cultivar with   KSil as foliar spray increased DM, starch and total carbohydrates in tubers. Spunta cultivar with water only increased total sugars in tubers.  In addition, the fertilization of Cara cultivar   with  KCit as a foliar application recorded a relative increase in the total yield of tubers amounting to about 72.50% as an average of the two seasons compared to the same cultivar  without.

Heat episodes increasingly constrain potato ( L.) productivity, yet how nitrogen (N) status modulates heat-induced limitations in canopy function, radiation use efficiency ( ), and source-sink allocation remains insufficiently resolved. We conducted a pot experiment in controlled climate chambers using two temperature regimes (control, T0; heat stress, T1) combined with three N rates (0, 50 and 150 kg ha ¹; N0, N1 and N2) in a split-plot design. Compared with T0, heat stress significantly raised canopy temperature, reduced chlorophyll status ( ), and decreased by 15.4%, and restricted the translocation of photoassimilates from shoots to tubers, which resulted in a 42.1% decline in tuber dry weight at harvest. Crucially, while heat stress drove a 31.9% reduction in under N-deficient conditions (N0), this penalty was effectively neutralized under high N (N2). Furthermore, sufficient N supply alleviated the heat-induced restriction on dry-matter translocation, reducing the biomass fraction retained in shoots from a 6.9% excess at N0 to only 3.9% at N2, thereby facilitating more effective dry matter allocation to tubers under thermal stress. Consequently, heat-induced tuber yield loss was alleviated by N, with dry weight reductions declining from 55% (N0) to 33% (N2). Overall, sufficient N supply mitigated heat-induced yield loss in potato primarily by sustaining and dry matter partitioning to tubers during bulking, providing physiological insight into how N status supports tuber yield formation under heat stress.