The Correlation between Soil Nutrient and Potato Quality in Loess Plateau of China Based on PLSR

Effects of New Special Formula Fertilizer on Potato Growth, Yield, and Fertilizer Utilization Efficiency

This study addresses the low yield and fertilizer utilization efficiency of potatoes in the arid region of Xinjiang, Northwest China. The effect of a novel, fulvic acid-based specialized fertilizer for drip application on potato growth, development, yield, and fertilizer efficiency is investigated. The aim is to identify a suitable fertilizer formula for potato cultivation in Xinjiang and promote its demonstration and application, providing a theoretical basis for improving fertilizer efficiency and achieving stable, high yields in the region. The experiment was conducted with potato variety 'Xisen 6' using a field trial design, which included five treatments: no fertilizer (CK), conventional fertilizer (CF: N-P-K = 258-245-338 kg·ha-1), formulated fertilizer 1 (F1: 120 g·L-1 fulvic acid, N-P-K = 110-100-120 g·L-1), formulated fertilizer 2 (F2: 60 g·L-1 fulvic acid, N-P-K = 130-120-150 g·L-1), and formulated fertilizer 3 (F3: 30 g·L-1 fulvic acid, N-P-K = 170-150-130 g·L-1). Agronomic traits, gas exchange parameters of leaves during the tuber expansion stage, and yield components at harvest were measured, along with the fertilizer use efficiency for each treatment. Results show that F1, F2, and F3 improved the potato plant height, stem diameter, aboveground dry weight, SPAD value, stomatal conductance (Gs), and yield. Among these, F2 significantly enhanced plant height, stem diameter, aboveground dry weight, and the accumulation of relative chlorophyll content (SPAD value) during the tuber expansion stage, increased photosynthesis, and further improved yield and fertilizer efficiency, resulting in a yield increase of 121.29% and 34.6% compared to CK and CF, respectively. Therefore, formula fertilizer F2 is identified as the optimal fertilization strategy for potato cultivation in Xinjiang. Its application has been further extended in demonstration trials. Field demonstration results show that F2 significantly increased potato yield, with a 14.79% yield increase compared to CK, proving its effectiveness in replacing conventional fertilizers and enhancing production.

Effects of drip irrigation on yield, soil fertility and soil enzyme activity of different potato varieties in Northwest China

The effects of different irrigation and fertilization on potato yield, soil fertility and soil enzyme activity of different varieties under drip irrigation fertilization mode were studied, which could provide support for selecting the best varieties in Northwest China. Three factors and three levels orthogonal experimental design method, a total of nine treatments. The three irrigation levels were W1 (100% crop evapotranspiration (ETC)), W2 (80% ETC) and W3 (60% ETC). The three fertilization levels were F1 (N-P2O5-K2O, 240-120-300 kg ha-1), F2 (180-90-225 kg ha-1) and F3 (120-60-150 kg ha-1). The three varieties were V1 (Feiuritar), V2 (Longshu7) and V3 (Qingshu 9). The results showed that different irrigation and fertilization had significant effects on potato yield, soil fertility and soil enzyme activity in root zone. The highest yield of T5 (80%ETC, 180-90-225 kg ha-1, Qingshu 9) was 49,222.3 kg ha-1. With the increase of fertilizer application rate, potato yield and soil enzyme activity in root zone increased first and then decreased, but soil electrical conductivity (SEC), soil nitrate-N content (SNNC), soil alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content (SAHC), soil available potassium (AK), soil available phosphorus (AP), soil ammonium-N content (SANC) and soil organic matter (SOM) in root zone increased continuously. The yield, soil catalase activity, soil urease activity and soil sucrase activity at W2 were 2.81% and 22.2%, 1.84% and 7.04%, 8.26% and 9.62%, 5.34% and 13.36% higher than those at W1 and W3, respectively. The overall trend of soil water content, soil nutrient content and enzyme activity in root zone was 0-20 cm >20-40 cm >40-60 cm soil layer. There were many soil factors affecting tuber yield, among which soil enzyme activity, pH value and root zone conductivity were the key factors. The results showed that T5 (80%ETC, 180-90-225 kg ha-1, Qingshu 9) was the best treatment to improve soil enzyme activity and yield.

The Need for Machines for the Nondestructive Quality Assessment of Potatoes with the Use of Artificial Intelligence Methods and Imaging Techniques

This article describes chemical and physical parameters, including their role in the storage, trade, and processing of potatoes, as well as their nutritional properties and health benefits resulting from their consumption. An analysis of the share of losses occurring during the production process is presented. The methods and applications used in recent years to estimate the physical and chemical parameters of potatoes during their storage and processing, which determine the quality of potatoes, are presented. The potential of the technologies used to classify the quality of potatoes, mechanical and ultrasonic, and image processing and analysis using vision systems, as well as their use in applications with artificial intelligence, are discussed.

Long-term snow alters the sensitivity of nonstructural carbohydrates of Syntrichia caninervis to snow cover: Based on a 7-year experiment

The dynamics of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) profoundly affect productivity and ecological adaptability to adversity in plants. Global warming induced the frequent occurrence of extreme precipitation events that altered the winter snow pattern in deserts. However, there is a lack of understanding of how desert mosses respond to long-term snow cover change at the NSC level. Therefore, in this study, long-term (7-years) winter snow removal (-S), ambient snow (CK), and double snow (+S) experiments were set in the field to investigate the content of NSC and its component in Syntrichia Caninervis. Our results showed that changes in snow depth, snow years, and their interaction significantly affected NSC and its component of Syntrichia caninervis. Compared to snow removal, NSC, soluble sugar, and starch significantly decreased with the increasing snow depth. The ratio of soluble sugar to starch significantly increased, while NSC and soluble sugar gradually returned to the normal level with an increase in snow years. It is worth mentioning that snow removal significantly reduced the soluble sugar to starch ratio compared to ambient snow depth, whereas the double snow experiment significantly increased the ratio of soluble sugar to starch during winter. This indicated an obvious trade-off between carbon utilization and carbon storage in Syntrichia caninervis. Snow removal stimulated Syntrichia caninervis to store sufficient carbon sources by starch accumulation for its future growth, while double snow promoted its current growth by soluble sugar accumulation. The variance in decomposition showed that soil physical and chemical properties, snow cover, and their interaction explained 83% of the variation in NSC and its components, with soil and plant water content, pH, and electrical conductivity (P-WC, S-WC, S-pH, and S-EC) as significant predictors. This highlights that snow indirectly affected NSC and its component contents by changing soil physical and chemical properties; however, long-term changes in snow cover could slow down its sensitivity to snow.

Microbial community changes in different underground compartments of potato affected yield and quality

Soil microbial communities are critical to plant health and productivity. Crop-associated microbial diversity may exhibit spatial specificity across regions and soil compartments. However, we lack sound evidence for the impact of variation in soil microbial diversity on plant productivity caused by regional differences. The main aims of this study are to explore the structure and functionality of the belowground (potato tuber surface and rhizosphere) microbial communities in three compartments and assess whether these communities contribute to potato productivity. Significant differences in alpha and beta diversities of belowground microbiota were detected in different compartments and regions, mainly due to differences in available soil nutrients and pH. Changes to microbial diversity between bulk soil and rhizosphere or tuber surface soil were significantly negatively correlated with potato yield and nutrient content and positively correlated with starch content. We further found some bacterial (Mucilaginibacter, Dokdonella, and Salinispora) and fungal (Solicoccozyma, Scytalidium, and Humicola) genera closely associated with potato yield and quality. Aggregated boosted tree prediction revealed that soil physicochemical properties and microbial diversity of tuber surface soil contributed more to potato yield; tuber surface soil bacterial contributed more to potato starch and nutrient content. Our findings provide experimental evidence that the significant differences in soil microbial diversity and specific microbial taxa enrichment may potentially influence crop productivity under soil physicochemical property change scenarios in the agricultural ecosystem.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03167-6.

Cultivar-Dependent Responses in Plant Growth, Leaf Physiology, Phosphorus Use Efficiency, and Tuber Quality of Potatoes Under Limited Phosphorus Availability Conditions

The limited availability of phosphorus (P) in soils causes a major constraint in the productivity of potatoes, which requires increased knowledge of plant adaptation responses in this condition. In this study, six potato cultivars, namely, Agria, Lady Claire, Milva, Lilly, Sieglinde, and Verdi, were assessed for their responses on plant growth, leaf physiology, P use efficiency (PUE), and tuber quality with three P levels (P_low, P_med, and P_high). The results reveal a significant variation in the cultivars in response to different P availabilities. P-efficient cultivars, Agria, Milva, and Lilly, possessed substantial plant biomass, tuber yield, and high P uptake efficiency (PUpE) under low P supply conditions. The P-inefficient cultivars, Lady Claire, Sieglinde, and Verdi, could not produce tubers under P deprivation conditions, as well as the ability to efficiently uptake P under low-level conditions, but they were efficient in P uptake under high soil P conditions. Improved PUpE is important for plant tolerance with limited P availability, which results in the efficient use of the applied P. At the leaf level, increased accumulations of nitrate, sulfate, sucrose, and proline are necessary for a plant to acclimate to P deficiency-induced stress and to mobilize leaf inorganic phosphate to increase internal PUE and photosynthesis. The reduction in plant biomass and tuber yield under P-deficient conditions could be caused by reduced CO₂ assimilation. Furthermore, P deficiency significantly reduced tuber yield, dry matter, and starch concentration in Agria, Milva, and Lilly. However, contents of tuber protein, sugars, and minerals, as well as antioxidant capacity, were enhanced under these conditions in these cultivars. These results highlight the important traits contributing to potato plant tolerance under P-deficient conditions and indicate an opportunity to improve the P efficiency and tuber quality of potatoes under deficient conditions using more efficient cultivars. Future research to evaluate molecular mechanisms related to P and sucrose translocation, and minimize tuber yield reduction under limited P availability conditions is necessary.