Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Yield Gaps and Ecological Footprints of Potato Production Systems in Chile

  • Published:
Potato Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In Chile, potatoes are grown in a wide range of ecological zones and levels of technology resulting in wide ranges of crop management and yields. The aim of the present study was to assess yield gaps, resource use efficiencies and foot-printing in different potato cropping zones between 18 and 53° South considering early and late crops, small and large holdings (>10 ha/year) and ware and seed potato crops. Two mathematical tools were used to generate data for comparisons: the light interception and utilization simulator for potato crops (LINTUL-Potato) to calculate potential yields and water need of each system and the Cool Farm Tool – Potato (CFT) to calculate the amount of CO2 associated with the production of 1 ton of potato. Meteorological data for LINTUL-Potato came from official services, and data needed to complete the CFT came from a survey carried out for the 10 sites yielding amounts of inputs and number of operations, potato yields and planting and harvesting dates. The survey yielded 20 cropping systems with an average yield of 31 t ha−1. Yields were related to daily growth rate and not to the length of the growing season. Considerable variation was found in resource-use efficiency and CO2 emission. It was concluded that large farms show a lower land footprint than small farms due to a higher technological level, but while applying more water and fertilizer, they result in higher water and CO2 footprints. Late crops may fetch higher off-season prices but have higher land, water and CO2 footprints. The most suitable potato production systems are the rain-fed summer crops in the South with the lowest footprints. The highest footprints have the irrigated winter crops in the centre of Chile. The subsistence high altitude Andean crop in the utmost North has the highest land footprint but the lowest CO2 emission. The description, analysis and benchmarking of the potato production systems in Chile allow strategies for improving footprints and profitability and yields information about future investments in research, development and production of the crop.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+
from $39.99 /Month
  • Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month
  • Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals
  • Cancel anytime
View plans

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Allen RG, Smith M, Pruitt WO, Pereira LS (1996) Modifications to the FAO crop coefficient approach. In: Proc. Int. Conf. Evapotranspiration Irrigation Scheduling. San Antonio, TX, USA, pp. 124–132

  • ASABE (2006a) Agricultural machinery management data. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Standard ASAE EP496.3. ASABE, St. Joseph, pp 385–390

    Google Scholar 

  • ASABE (2006b) Agricultural machinery management data. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Standard ASAE EP496.3. ASABE, St, Joseph, pp 391–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Audsley E, Stacey K, Parsons DJ, Williams AG (2009) Estimation of the greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural pesticide manufacture and use. Cranfield University, Cranfield, 20 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouwman AF, Boumans LJM, Batjes NH (2002) Modeling global annual N2O and NO emissions from fertilized fields. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 16(4):1080

    Google Scholar 

  • Caldiz DO, Struik PC (1999) Survey of potato production and possible yield constraints in Argentina. Potato Res 42:51–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ecoinvent Centre (2007) Ecoinvent data v2.0. Ecoinvent reports No.1-25, Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories, Dübendorf, 2007, retrieved from: www.ecoinvent.org

  • FAO (2013). FAOSTAT. http://faostat.fao.org/DesktopModules/Admin/Logon.aspx?tabID=0

  • FAO/IFA (2001) Global estimates of NH3, NO and N2O for agricultural lands. FAO Rome ISBN 92-5-104689–1, 106 pp

  • Franke AC, Steyn JM, Ranger KS, Haverkort AJ (2011) Developing environmental principles, criteria, indicators and norms for potato production through field surveys and modelling. Agric Syst 104:297–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GHG protocol (2003). Emissions factors from cross-sector tools. http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/all-tools

  • Haverkort AJ, Hillier JG (2011) Cool farm tool – potato: model description and performance of four production systems. Potato Res 54:355–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haverkort AJ, Franke AC, Steyn JM, Engelbrecht FA (2013) Climate change and potato production in contrasting South African agro-ecosystems 1. Effects on land and water use efficiencies. Potato Res 56:31–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier JG, Hawes C, Squire G, Hilton A, Wale S, Smith P (2009) The carbon footprints of food crop production. Int J Agric Sustain 7:107–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier J, Walter C, Malin D, Garcia-Suarez T, Mila-i-Canals L, Smith P (2011) A farm-focused calculator for emissions from crop and livestock production. Environ Model Softw 26:1070–1078

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2006) Revised Good Practice Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Tokyo, Japan. http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol4.html

  • Kooman PL, Haverkort AJ (1994) Modelling development and growth of the potato crop influenced by temperature and daylength: LINTUL-POTATO. In: Haverkort AJ, MacKerron DKL (eds) Ecology and modeling of potato crops under conditions limiting growth. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 41–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (2004) Carbon emissions from farm operations. Environ Int 30:981–990

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montaldo P (1974) Regiones ecologicas del cultivo de la papa (Solonum tuberosum) en Chile. Agro Sur 2:25–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novoa R, Villaseca S (1989) Mapa Agroclimático de Chile. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Santiago

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogle SM, Breidt FJ, Paustian K (2005) Agricultural management impacts on soil organic carbon storage under moist and dry climatic conditions of temperature and tropical regions. Biogeochemistry 72:87–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie JT (1972) Model for predicting evaporation from a row crop with incomplete cover. Water Resour Res 8:1204–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P, Powlson DS, Glendining MJ, Smith JU (1997) Potential for carbon sequestration in European soils: preliminary estimates for five scenarios using results from long-term experiments. Glob Chang Biol 3:67–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spitters CJT (1990) Crop growth models: their usefulness and limitations. Acta Horticult 267:349–368

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitters CJT, Schapendonk AHCM (1990) Evaluation of breeding strategies for drought tolerance in potato by means of crop growth simulation. Plant Soil 123:193–203

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Wart J, Kersebaum KC, Peng S, Milner M, Cassman KG (2013) Estimating crop yield potential at regional to national scales. Field Crop Res 143:34–43

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs within a country-specific project on policy support headed by Dr. Huub Schepers. Also, the authors thank the work partners and farmers that provided the information allowing the analysis presented in this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research Centre, P.O. Box 616, 6700AP, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    A. J. Haverkort

  2. Department of Plant Production and Soil Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield, 0028, South Africa

    A. J. Haverkort

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias INIA, Carretera Panamericana Sur, Km. 8 Norte, Osorno, Chile

    P. Sandaña & J. Kalazich

Authors
  1. A. J. Haverkort
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. P. Sandaña
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. Kalazich
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Sandaña.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Haverkort, A.J., Sandaña, P. & Kalazich, J. Yield Gaps and Ecological Footprints of Potato Production Systems in Chile. Potato Res. 57, 13–31 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-014-9250-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-014-9250-8

Keywords