Influence of physiological age and plant density on growth parameters in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during rabi 2023–24 at the Centre for Millets Research, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Deesa, to study the effect of physiological age and intra-row spacing on key growth parameters of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) variety Kufri Badshah. Three physiological ages of seed tubers [175 DD (P₁), 350 DD (P₂), and 525 DD (P₃)] and three intra-row spacings [50 cm × 15 cm (S₁), 50 cm × 20 cm (S₂), and 50 cm × 25 cm (S₃)] were evaluated in a Factorial Randomized Block Design with four replications. Physiological age significantly influenced crop performance. Seed tubers of 525 DD (P₃) recorded the highest plant emergence (90.62%), maximum ground cover duration at 30–45 DAP (4.77%/day), while 350 DD (P₂) showed superior ground cover at 30 DAP (62.50%) and 45 DAP (82.25%). In contrast, 175 DD (P₁) produced the tallest plants (60.48 cm), maximum stems per hill (4.90), the highest number of compound leaves (64.70). the highest haulm yield (272.22 q/ha). Intra-row spacing also exerted a significant influence on growth. The closest spacing of 50 cm × 15 cm (S₁) recorded the highest stems per hill (4.92), dry weight of shoots (28.25 g) and haulm yield (266.66 q/ha). Interaction effects (P × S) were significant for several characters. The combination P₃ × S₃ recorded the highest plant emergence (93.45%), P₂ × S₁ the highest ground cover at 30 DAP (67.00%), P3 × S1 at 45 DAP (85.50%), and P₁ × S₁ at 60 DAP (97.50%). Ground cover duration was maximum under P3 × S1 at 30–45 DAP (4.88%/day) and under P₂ × S₁ at 45–60 DAP (6.07%/day). The highest dry weight of shoots was observed under P2 × S1 (32.50 g), and the highest haulm yield under P₁ × S₁ (295.83 q/ha). Based on the results, it may be concluded that seed tubers of moderate physiological age (350 DD) combined with a spacing of 50 cm × 15 cm offer the best balance of early emergence, ground cover development, vegetative growth, and overall crop performance under the agro-climatic conditions of North Gujarat.