TY - JOUR

T1 - Agronomic and physiological responses of potato subjected to soil compaction and/or drying

AU - Huntenburg, Katharina

AU - Dodd, I.C.

AU - Stalham, M.

N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Huntenburg, K, Dodd, IC, Stalham, M. Agronomic and physiological responses of potato subjected to soil compaction and/or drying. Ann Appl Biol. 2021; 178: 328– 340. https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12675 Which has been published in final form at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aab.12675 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.

PY - 2021/3/30

Y1 - 2021/3/30

N2 - Compact and dry soils impede root growth and restrict plant water availability, respectively, potentially causing leaf water deficit. Although both stresses likely co-occur in the field and limit yield, little is known about their combined impact on plant growth and physiology over a whole season, especially in a tuberous crop like potato. Field-grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L. var. 'Maris Piper') was exposed to factorial combination of deficit irrigation (watering when soil moisture deficit reached 60 vs. 25 mm) and soil compaction (compacted with heavy machinery vs. uncompacted), with plant growth and leaf physiology measured weekly. Shoot growth was restricted by adverse soil conditions, while leaf water status, photosynthesis rates and leaf abscisic acid (ABA) levels did not vary significantly between treatments. Across all treatments, final yield was linearly correlated (R2 = 0.71) to mid-season shoot biomass. Compared to well-watered plants growing in loose soil, soil compaction, deficit irrigation and their combination decreased final tuber yield similarly, by 23%–34%. Surprisingly, tuber size distribution was more dependent on irrigation management than on soil strength. Plants exposed to deficit irrigation produced more, smaller potatoes than their respective control. Thus, low soil water availability and/or compact soil caused these field-grown potatoes to restrict shoot growth rather than limit leaf gas exchange. Further research is needed to understand the role of hormonal signalling in regulating tuber growth when plants are exposed to compact and dry soils. © 2021 The Authors. Annals of Applied Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Applied Biologists.

AB - Compact and dry soils impede root growth and restrict plant water availability, respectively, potentially causing leaf water deficit. Although both stresses likely co-occur in the field and limit yield, little is known about their combined impact on plant growth and physiology over a whole season, especially in a tuberous crop like potato. Field-grown potato (Solanum tuberosum L. var. 'Maris Piper') was exposed to factorial combination of deficit irrigation (watering when soil moisture deficit reached 60 vs. 25 mm) and soil compaction (compacted with heavy machinery vs. uncompacted), with plant growth and leaf physiology measured weekly. Shoot growth was restricted by adverse soil conditions, while leaf water status, photosynthesis rates and leaf abscisic acid (ABA) levels did not vary significantly between treatments. Across all treatments, final yield was linearly correlated (R2 = 0.71) to mid-season shoot biomass. Compared to well-watered plants growing in loose soil, soil compaction, deficit irrigation and their combination decreased final tuber yield similarly, by 23%–34%. Surprisingly, tuber size distribution was more dependent on irrigation management than on soil strength. Plants exposed to deficit irrigation produced more, smaller potatoes than their respective control. Thus, low soil water availability and/or compact soil caused these field-grown potatoes to restrict shoot growth rather than limit leaf gas exchange. Further research is needed to understand the role of hormonal signalling in regulating tuber growth when plants are exposed to compact and dry soils. © 2021 The Authors. Annals of Applied Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association of Applied Biologists.

KW - abscisic acid

KW - drought

KW - photosynthesis

KW - potato

KW - soil compaction

KW - transpiration

KW - tuber size

U2 - 10.1111/aab.12675

DO - 10.1111/aab.12675

M3 - Journal article

VL - 178

SP - 328

EP - 340

JO - Annals of Applied Biology

JF - Annals of Applied Biology

SN - 0003-4746

IS - 2

ER -