Growth and Yield of Double Cropping Potatoes Produced Using Seed Tubers of Different Types and Sizes

For stable cultivation in double cropping, it is important to use potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars with a short dormancy period of 50-70 days and plant seed tubers of appropriate type and size. An experiment was conducted during 2018-2019 to investigate the effects of seed tuber type and size on growth and yield performance in double cropping. Whole tubers of three sizes (10-20 g, 30-40 g, and 50-60 g) and conventional cut tubers weighing 30-40 g from three cultivars with different dormancy periods, namely 'Daeji' (40-60 days), 'Eunsun' (50-60 days), and 'Saebong' (50-80 days), were planted, and their field performance was compared. Regardless of the cultivar, the increase in the whole tuber weight up to 30-40 g led to fast emergence, thereby increasing ground cover rate, shoot growth rate, and tuber growth rate, which ultimately improved tuber yield by 33-54%. Comparing the whole and cut tubers, 'Daeji' and 'Eunsun' showed similar growth and yield performance; as such, the performance of whole tubers weighing 10-20 g was comparable to that of cut tubers weighing 30-40 g. However, 'Saebong', a cultivar with relatively long dormancy period, performed better with cut tuber than with whole tubers. Based on these results, we recommend the use of whole tubers weighing over 30 g for double cropping. Further studies to break tuber dormancy are warranted in cultivars with relatively long dormancy periods (50-80 days), such as 'Saebong'.