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The relationship of aphid abundance on potato plants to the specific gravity of the tubers

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Summary

Maximum ratios of 96 to 1 in 1946 and of 44 to 1 in 1947 in the seasonal levels of aphid abundance on potato plants of the Green Mountain variety resulted in no difference in specific gravities of the tubers. In general, similar results were obtained for potatoes of the Katahdin variety in 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960. Aphids had no important effect on the specific gravity of tubers. Any reduction in starch content caused by the aphids was of no commercial significance and probably was too small to be reflected in the cooking or eating qualities of the tubers.

Planting date had a small, inconsistent effect upon specific gravity of tubers. In the dry season of 1960 the effects of planting site and planting date were inseparable, but planting site may have been the more important through its effects upon the amount of water accumulated and the length of time the soil retained the moisture.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Orono, Maine

    W. A. Shands (Senior Entomologist)

  2. Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, Orono, Maine

    G. W. Simpson (Professor of Entomology)

Authors
  1. W. A. Shands
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  2. G. W. Simpson
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Shands, W.A., Simpson, G.W. The relationship of aphid abundance on potato plants to the specific gravity of the tubers. American Potato Journal 39, 1–7 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02912625

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02912625

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