Abstract
Potato has about 100 wild species relatives that are multiplied in the form of botanical seed populations by genebanks, and distributed for use in research and breeding, so factors that affect long term seed germination are of interest. In 1987 the US Potato Genebank conducted routine seed multiplication on 127 populations of 31 species as greenhouse-grown potted plants. Half of the parent plants in each population were given two doses of liquid fertilizer in addition to the standard slow-release granular fertilizer which had been mixed into the medium for all plants. Plants with this extra liquid fertilizer application grew larger, and produced significantly more fruit and seeds. However, seeds from parents fertilized extra did not have improved seed weight or germination after 26 years of storage. We conclude that optimizing the fertilizer regime used on parent plants, while doubling the average seed yield, does not result in higher quality seeds.
Resumen
La papa tiene alrededor de 100 especies silvestres que son multiplicadas en forma de semilla botánica por bancos de germoplasma. Esto facilita su distribucion para su uso en investigación y mejoramiento. Por ello es de mucho interés conocer los factores que afectan la germinación de la semilla a largo plazo. En 1987 el banco de germoplasma de papa de los Estados Unidos condujo, como parte de sus actividades de rutina, la multiplicación de semillas de 127 poblaciones de 31 especies, en la forma de plantas sembradas en macetas en invernaderos. A la mitad de las plantas progenitoras en cada población se les aplicó dos dosis de fertilizante líquido, además del fertilizante estándar granular de lenta liberación que había sido mezclado en el medio usado para todas las plantas. Las plantas con este fertilizante líquido extra fueron más grandes y produjeron, significativamente, más frutos y semillas. Sin embargo, estas semillas originadas de progenitores con extra fertilizacion no tuvieron mejor peso ni mejor capacidad de germinación después de 26 años en almacenamiento. En conclusión, el uso de un régimen optimizado, con la adición de fertilizante en plantas progenitoras, es capaz de duplicar la producción de semillas, pero ello no resulta en la generación de semillas de mejor calidad.
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Abbreviations
- USPG:
-
US Potato Genebank
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Acknowledgements
We thank the University of Wisconsin Peninsular Agricultural Research Station (PARS) program and staff for their support.
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Bamberg, J., Fernandez, C. & del Rio, A. Extra Soil Fertilization of Mother Plants Increases Botanical Seed Yield But Not Long-Term Germination in Wild Solanum (potato) Species. Am. J. Potato Res. 94, 583–587 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-017-9596-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-017-9596-y