MODEL OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND BULKING OF POTATOES (SOLANUM-TUBEROSUM-L) .3. SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR POTATO PRODUCTION AND RESEARCH

To illustrate potential applications for a previously developed potato model, some questions of interest to the Australian potato industry are examined. It is concluded (1) that there is scope for substantial yield improvement in many potato-growing districts, (2) that in three well-established districts examined, there is little to be gained from altering the timing of production, (3) that for two out of three potential districts considered, the yield prospects appear favourable, and (4) that hopes among the traditional seed-producing districts of exporting seed to lowland tropical regions overseas appear impractical on physiological grounds. Work with the model also helped to highlight gaps in knowledge of the physiology of the potato crop. This led to several recommendations, including (1) the collection and publication of a standard minimum set of data whenever the growth of potato plants is being examined in trials and experiments, (2) collection of similar data-sets from commercial crops so that the influence of management can be quantified and commercial yields predicted more accurately, and (3) greater use of experimental designs which facilitate development of general functional relationships from the recorded data. © 1979.