| Abstract Detail
Production and Management Wallace, John [1]. Small Minitubers for Improved System Efficiency in Basic Seed Production. SMALL minitubers less than 25mm diameter (5g mass) have several advantages over traditional minitubers when the total system costs of producing high quality field generation 1 (FG-1) seed are considered. A nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic production system allows for frequent harvesting of minitubers of any desired size. This system typically produces more than 30 tubers per plant vs. 6-12 for conventional minitubers in pots, and reduces the number of plantlets and time required to propagate the planting stock. Our current production system is based on harvesting all tubers over 15mm diameter two or three times per week. Over a complete crop cycle a typical minituber size distribution by count is: 5% 9-12mm (0.9g); 69% 12-18mm (1.8-2.8 g); and 25% 18-25mm (4.3g). The minitubers are closely graded into 3mm intervals by diameter, and planted by size. Minituber cutting with attendant labor cost and disease risk is eliminated. Tubers up to 18mm diameter can be planted with a vacuum vegetable seeder allowing one operator to plant 30 acres/day with better depth and spacing precision than an assist-feed planter covering 8 acres/day with 5 people on board. Planting the closely graded seed together in blocks provides for uniform emergence and interplant competition within the stand. This effectively increases the yield of the small tubers which would be handicapped by larger, earlier emerging neighbors in a standard mixed-size stand. This production system can produce 200-500 cwt/ac of FG1 seed at lower cost than a conventional system which may allow reducing the number of field generations needed to produce seed for the ware crop.
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1 - CSS Potato Farms, LLC, P.O. Box 19637, Colorado City, CO, 81019, USA
Keywords:
minituber
seed
nuclear seed
hydroponic.
Session: PAA13-6
Location: Hall of Ideas Room E/Monona Terrace
Date: Tuesday, July 25th, 2006
Time: 2:45 PM
Abstract ID:173 |
