Summary
The distributions of the yield and of the numbers of tubers were examined in graded samples of tubers from field experiments designed to compare droughted and irrigated crops of cultivars of potato thought to differ in their tolerance of drought.
Drought caused a downward shift of about 7–10 mm in the centres of both distributions. The consequences were that smaller fractions of lower total yields reached the sizes usually specified for table (40–80 mm) and crisping (<45 mm) potatoes.
Differences in the distributions of numbers of tubers in droughted and irrigated crops were statistically significant in four of the six cultivars examined. The main reason for lower ware yields in the droughted crops was that fewer tubers reached the minimum size (40 mm). The effect of delayed harvest was to shift the distributions upwards.
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Mackerron, D.K.L., Jefferies, R.A. The distributions of tuber sizes in droughted and irrigated crops of potato. I. Observations on the effect of water stress on graded yields from differing cultivars. Potato Res 31, 269–278 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365535
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365535