Farming systems affect potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber and soil quality

Summary

The aim of this study was to investigate how different farming systems influenced tuber yields and quality (N, NO3−, P, K, Ca, Mg, dry matter and starch concentrations) of potato as well as how potato cultivation within a crop rotation under different farming systems affects soil quality (pH, Ntot, Corg, plant available P, K, Ca and Mg concentrations). Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) was part of a five crop rotation experiment in which red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), peas (Pisum sativum L.), potato and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) followed each other simultaneously on a same field. Data presented in this paper concerned the first 3 years of the rotation during 2009–2011. The experiment was performed with six different farming systems as follows: two organic and four conventional.