Making Use Of Potatoes Microtuber Soilless Cultivation To Produce Minituber Research

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the fourth important grain food crop in the world. China is the biggest country to produce potato, but the average yield is relatively low. The deterioration caused by virus diseases is the main factor that reduces the yield. This brings a negative influence to the production of potato in the country. Since 1970's, tissue culture has been applied to produce virus-free seed tubers and achievements obtained in microtubers has reduced the cycle of seed potato production.This research was carried out at Fenghuang area of Liupanshui City. Microtubers of cvs. E-potato 1, E-potato 3, and Nanzhong 552 were cultivated by soilless cultivation to produce minitubers. Using respective methods such as variance analysis, correlation analysis and Duncan multiple comparison, the effects of four growth media and field management (such as cutting and hilling) when growing microtubers with pine leaf residue on number and weight of minitubers and the production cost were studied. The main results as follow:1. For E-potato 1, E-potato 3 and Nanzhong 552, the number of minitubers per-unit area was the biggest when using the medium mixed with pine leave residues. E-potato 3 produced the most monitubers among three varieties.2. Although cutting could add the production cost, it could be remarkably reduced by increasing the survival rate of transplanting.3. Liupanshui City is rich of resources of pine leave residue with low cost. It is a region with cool climate, monocrop system, less pathogens and well isolated environment, so it is suitable to set up and popularize the Two-Year seed potato system with usage of pine leaf residue and cv. E-potato 3.