Adaptive variability of early potato in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamics of early potato yield formation at 40 days depending on the weather conditions of the research years and the adaptive potential of early potato cultivars. During 2018-2024, 10 cultivars of early potatoes common in the Forest-Steppe zone were investigated in the field (Uman, 48°46′N, 30°14′E). To analyse the results obtained, the study employed generally accepted methods of field and genetic-statistical research. During the study, the number and weight of marketable tubers in the bush, the dynamics of crop formation on the 40th day after germination, and the strength of the correlation between yield and rainfall were investigated. As a result of the data obtained, the most promising cultivars were identified for early potato harvest in the Forest-Steppe region of Ukraine. It was found that this climatic zone is best suited to the cultivars Bazaliia, Tornado and Madison with a yield of 11.0-11.7 t/ha and a large weight of marketable tubers – 58-60 g. In the full ripeness phase, the most productive cultivars were Madison – 37.2 t/ha (+18.6 t/ha of control), Tornado – 34.7 t/ha (+16.1 t/ha of control), Duma and Bazaliia – 31.4 and 32.2 t/ha, respectively (+12.8 t/ha 13.6 t/ha of control, respectively). The study found that the Tornado and Madison cultivars form the largest number of marketable tubers in the bush. Analysis of the semi-ratio of plasticity and stability parameters contributed to the grouping of cultivars into intensive ones (Sanibel, Radomysl, Duma, Bazaliia and Madison had indicators bi > 1, σ2d > 0 and plastic (Povin, Vzirets, Skrabnytsia, Bernina and Tornado). As a result of the study, the most productive potato cultivars for early production were identified, which will ensure the stable development of the vegetable growing industry in the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine, and the calculated statistical models will allow predicting and directing the programming of potato yields