Effect of storage temperature during tuber pre-sprouting on sprout and yield development of organically grown potatoes

Summary

In the frame of the on-farm-research project ‘Organic Pilot Farms in North Rhine-Westphalia’ (Germany) the influence of different storage temperatures (8, 12, 16°C) during pre-sprouting under full light (> 200 lux) on tuber development was tested. Sprout length and yield development of cultivars Belana and Nicola as affected by the pre-sprouting regime were recorded in five field trials on two sites over three years. Increasing storage temperature during pre-sprouting resulted in significantly longer sprouts at planting. The higher risk of sprout breaking during mechanical planting of seed tubers with longer sprouts was overcompensated by faster crop development. As a function of higher temperatures during pre-sprouting all measured parameters showed consistently the same tendency of faster shoot growth and higher tuber yield. These results were significant only in 2012 when late blight infestation started extremely early in the season.