The effects of physicochemical properties of hydroponic substrates on the uptake of macronutrients in potato shoot, root and minitubers

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important and economical vegetables. Minitubers are small pathogen-free tubers produced from in vitro plantlets after translocation to greenhouse followed by the creation of healthy and high-quality seed tubers. Hydroponic systems increase the production of these potato minitubers. This study investigates the effects of several growth media on elements uptake by potato shoot, root, and minitubers. There were significant correlations between in root, shoot, and minituber elements uptake and the properties of cultivation beds. The perlite + peat moss medium is recommended for hydroponics production of potato minitubers.

Keywords:

• growth media
• hydroponics
• minituber
• nutrient uptake
• peat moss

Acknowledgments

I acknowledge and appreciate the support by Mr. Ardabili and Mr. Hamidi who provided the facilities for conducting this research at Behparvar Sabalan Greenhouse. Author would like to thanks Dr. Mehdi Sharifi for his comments and edits.

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.