New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Effects of planting density, stem pruning treatments, and shade
on secondary tuber development in Sandersonia aurantiaca
G. E. CLARK
New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food
Research Limited
Pukekohe Research Centre
Cronin Road, RD 1
Pukekohe, New Zealand
G. K. BURGE
New Zealand Institute for Crop & Food
Research Limited
Levin Research Centre
Private Bag 4005
Levin, New Zealand
Abstract The effects of three plant densities (128, 256, and
384 tubers/m
2), three stem pruning treatments, and shading on tuber
weight and incidence of secondary tuber production in
Sandersonia
aurantiaca (Hook.) were assessed in a factorial experiment. Pruning
treatments were an unpruned control, a single cut just below the lowest flower
at early flowering, and a multiple cut treatment (as per single cut treatment
plus 25% more stem removed every 2 weeks). Tuber weight and secondary tuber
formation were significantly affected by both plant density and stem pruning
treatments, but not by shading. Averaged across all pruning treatments
secondary tuber formation was reduced from 25.7 to 0.6% with increasing plant
densities. Mean daughter tuber weight, including the weight of tubers with
attached secondary tubers, was also reduced with increasing plant density
(11.4, 7.9, 6.5 g) and with increasing severity of pruning treatments (11.1,
8.4, 6.2 g). However, the effect of stem pruning on secondary tuber formation
was much less than that of plant density. Only at the lowest density of 128
tubers/m
2 were there significant responses, with secondary tuber
formation declining from 33.7 to 15.5% with increasing severity of pruning.
Increasing the plant density from 128 to 256 tubers/m
2 reduced
secondary tuber formation to a low level (3.2 cf. with 33.7%) on unpruned
stems, without affecting the daughter tuber weight (10.5 versus 10.7 g). Such
cultural practices show great promise for controlling secondary tuber formation
during commercial tuber production.
Keywords sandersonia; Sandersonia aurantiaca; tuber;
density; shade; cutting; secondary tubers
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1997, Vol. 25:
73-78
0114-0671/97/2501-0073 $2.50/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1997
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (391K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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