A case study on the effect of soil compaction on potato growth in a loamy sand soil. 2. Potato plant responses.

Abstract

Potato plant reactions to soil compaction were studied in the field in the dry yr 1976. Irrigation was applied in some of the treatments. Strong compaction of topsoil resulted in shallow rooting, low water availability and relatively slow foliage and root growth in the first 60 days after emergence, compared with the non-compacted treatment. Compaction of the subsoil (formation of a plough pan) initially resulted in relatively rapid foliage growth, which was partly due to a high capillary flux from the water table; however the rate slowed down as vertical root elongation became inhibited by the plough pan. Topsoil compaction resulted in depressed tuber yields and severe induction of second growth compared to the non-compacted or irrigated treatments. At maturity, differences in total yields among treatments were small except for the treatment with a plough pan where the yield was low; soil compaction decreased marketable tuber yield. The quantity of available water for the crop, defined as the measured water uptake from the rooted zone and a calculated capillary flux to the rooting front was compared with potential evapotranspiration and significant differences thus obtained among treatments were well reflected by observed differences in vegetative growth. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)