Search Results
Sexual potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) seeds require many months of afterripening in dry storage to completely lose dormancy and germinate readily at >25C. We examined the relationship between storage temperature and seed dormancy, as assessed by the percentage of germination after 4 days. Two F1 hybrid lots of `Desiree' × 7XY.1 were used; one seed lot was produced by carefully removing half of the developing tubers from the mother plant during seed development, and the control remained undisturbed. Seeds were stored with 3.4% moisture (dry-weight basis) at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50C and were tested eight times during 29 months for daily germination at 27/40C (21/3 h) for the first 8 days, followed by 6 days at 17C. After 29 months of storage, final germination was <97% only when control seeds were stored at 50C, in which germination was 72%. Germination after 4 days increased curvilinearly with increasing storage temperature, and both seed lots similarly lost dormancy (germination >90%) after 10 months at 40C. Optimum germination levels were maintained after 29 months at 40C. Seeds stored at 50C never completely lost dormancy, and after 7 months of storage, germination at 4 days gradually decreased to zero. Dormancy was eventually lost after 29 months in most seeds stored at <40C, and differences between seed lots suggest that removing tubers from the mother plant increased dormancy. We conclude that dry potato seeds can be safely afterripened at temperatures up to 40C; lower temperatures slow the rate of dormancy loss, and higher ones are detrimental to seed quality.
Sexual seeds of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) usually emerge poorly under high-temperature conditions (> 25 C). A seedling vigor study was conducted during the warm season (1988-89) in Lima, Peru, and the results of two representative tests. are reported. Two presowing treatments and a rinsed control were compared for seedlingstand establishment in a screenhouse with old (>18 months) and new (> 6 months) sexual seeds of three potato crosses. The treatments consisted of soaking the seed in solutions of KN03 + K3P04 at – 1.0 MPa (priming) and gibberellic acid at 1500 ppm (GA1500). Seedling vigor was lower at 34C (February test) than at 29C (November test). In both tests, overall seedling performance was highest in seed of the cross Atlantic × LT-7. Old seed was more vigorous than new seed, particularly when the crosses Atzimba × R128.6 (B2) and Serrana × LT-7 (Cl) were tested at 34C. Priming increased percentage of early (10 days) emergence over the other treatments at 34C and increased seedling dry weight in both tests. GA1500 increased percentage of final (17 days) emergence in crosses B2 and Cl, as compared to rinsing, except at 29C, where there were no significant differences in old seed. For sowing true potato seed at high temperature, a) the genotype is a crucial factor, b) sufficient seed storage (> 18 months) may be essential, and c) seed priming is more effective than the standard GA1500 treatment.