Duration of the growth cycle and the yield potential of potato genotypes
Luis Antônio Stabile Silva and César Augusto Brasil Pereira Pinto
Most potato cultivars available to growers in Brazil come from temperate countries and present growing cycles around 100 days from planting. The objectives of this study were to establish the relationship between the duration of the growth cycle and the yield potential of potato genotypes in southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. This study evaluated the tuberization process, the dry matter partitioning at the different plant development stages, and estimated genetic parameters for these traits. One hundred and twenty-one genotypes were evaluated in two experiments which were harvested at 80 days after planting (DAP) and at the end of the growth cycle. In a second study, 23 genotypes were harvested at 58, 83, 108, and 133 DAP. Results suggest that a possible strategy to increase potato tuber yield in the tropics is to select for late clones. Late clones can be harvested around 100 DAP with no reduction in tuber yield and tuber dry matter content.