Investigations of the growth and development of seed potatoes under aeroponic conditions

Potato is one of the most important food crops in the world. It is grown in many countries in different climates, including temperate, tropical, and subtropical regions. Yet its cultivation is hampered by low soil fertility, pests and diseases, and inadequate, good-quality seed tubers. To improve the quality and production of potatoes, it is necessary to develop the potato cultivation technology. The aeroponic system is a way to grow food without soil and save water. Growing tubers has its limitations and challenges to producing good quality seed potatoes. The soilless system allows for a higher growth rate and healthy potato tubers, using a small amount of water. Production is not affected by weather or seasonal adverse effects such as hot, dry, cold, or windy weather. Cultivation can be carried out all year round and yields disease-free potatoes in larger quantities.

Our experiment was set up in the Aeroponics System of the University of Debrecen Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Water and Environmental Management. Two Hungarian potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars, Démon and Botond, were tested in this experiment. We planted 28-day-old, in vitro-raised, properly hardened, 8-10 cm high microplants in the growing units. The nutrient solution, temperature, humidity, and light conditions were set according to the needs of the plants based on literature data. After a few days, the plants' root system began to develop, with a 100 percent survival rate, the plants grew rapidly, and on the 58^th day in the system, the beginnings of flowers appeared.  During their development, we examined the height, number of leaves, stem thickness, photosynthetic activity, the chlorophyll-carotenoid content of the plants, and we also examined the characteristics of the individual growth stages with the help of active GIS (LiDAR).

This manuscript provides insight into the potential use of aeroponics for the development of agro techniques for seed potato production. Differences were found between the cultivars in the examined parameters. Démon is a cultivar with stronger stems and greater stem strength, which started flowering earlier but is more sensitive to the composition of the nutrient solution. The Botond cultivar is more elongated in the direction of the light. Aeroponic systems are suitable for growing seed potatoes.

The research presented in the article was carried out within the framework of the Széchenyi Plan Plus program, with support from the RRF 2.3.1 21 2022 00008 project.