Environmental factors influence the responsiveness of potato tuber yield to growing season precipitation

Funian Zhaoa,*, Qiang Zhanga,**, Jun Leib, Heling Wanga, Kai Zhanga, Yue Qia

PDF
Crop and Environment ›› 2024, Vol. 3 ›› Issue (2) : 112-122. DOI: 10.1016/j.crope.2024.02.002

Environmental factors influence the responsiveness of potato tuber yield to growing season precipitation

  • Funian Zhaoa,*, Qiang Zhanga,**, Jun Leib, Heling Wanga, Kai Zhanga, Yue Qia
Author information +
History +

Abstract

Understanding how environmental factors influence the responsiveness of crop yield to growing season precipitation (GSP) can reduce the risk of yield fluctuations, ensuring stable crop production. This study involved the cultivation of rainfed potatoes at three locations within the climatic transition zone of Northwest China. We employed stepwise linear regression and machine learning techniques to pinpoint the key environmental factors influencing potato tuber yield and the yield-precipitation relationship. The slope of the water-limited yield potential relationship for potatoes was determined to be 172.1 kg ha-1 mm-1, with an intercept at 121.2 mm. The potato tuber yield exhibited an upward trend with increasing GSP but declined once the precipitation exceeded 400 mm. However, GSP alone explained up to 30% of the variability in potato tuber yield. Factors such as soil moisture at planting, maximum temperatures during the tuber stolon initiation and bulking stages, diurnal temperature fluctuations at maturity, and excessive precipitation events during the growing season significantly influenced potato tuber yield, and consequently, the relationship between yield and GSP. Conversely, climatic factors accounted for more than 63% of the variation in potato tuber yield, with the multiple linear regression model yielding the best results. This was especially evident when the yield-precipitation relationship was categorized into two groups based on the amount and distribution of GSP, maximum temperature, and radiation levels. This analysis suggested that preventing unnecessary water evaporation when precipitation is low, improving drainage when precipitation is high, and planting potato on an optimal date can advance potato production.

Keywords

Fresh tuber yield / Potato / Potential evapotranspiration / Radiation / Temperature / Water-limited yield

Cite this article

Download citation ▾
Funian Zhao, Qiang Zhang, Jun Lei, Heling Wang, Kai Zhang, Yue Qi. Environmental factors influence the responsiveness of potato tuber yield to growing season precipitation. Crop and Environment, 2024, 3(2): 112‒122 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crope.2024.02.002

References

[1] Allen R., Pereira L., Raes D., Smith M., 1998. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
[2] Chen Y., Chai S., Tian H., Chai Y., Li Y., Chang L., Cheng H., 2019. Straw strips mulch on furrows improves water use efficiency and yield of potato in a rainfed semiarid area. Agric. Water Manage. 211, 142-151.
[3] Connor D.J., Jones T.R., Palta J.A., 1985. Response of sunflower to strategies of irrigation. I. Growth, yield and the efficiency of water-use. Field Crops Res. 10, 15-36.
[4] Fink K., Grassini P., Rocateli A., Bastos L., Kastens J., Ryan L., Lin X., Patrignani A., Lollato R., 2022. Alfalfa water productivity and yield gaps in the U.S. central Great Plains. Field Crops Res. 289, 108728.
[5] French R.J., Schultz J.E., 1984a. Water use efficiency of wheat in a Mediterranean type environment. I. The relation between yield, water use and climate. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 35, 743-764.
[6] French R.J., Schultz J.E., 1984b. Water use efficiency of wheat in a Mediterranean-type environment II. Some limitations to efficiency. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 35, 765-775.
[7] Grassini P., Hall A.J., Mercau J.L., 2009. Benchmarking sunflower water productivity in semiarid environments. Field Crops Res. 110, 251-262.
[8] Grassini P., Torrion J.A., Yang H.S., Rees J., Andersen D., Cassman K.G., Specht J.E., 2015. Soybean yield gaps and water productivity in the western U.S. Corn Belt. Field Crops Res. 179, 150-163.
[9] Han G., Miao F., Wang N., Hou X., 2021. Effects of subsoiling with mulching pattern on water use efficiency of potato in rainfed region of Southern Ningxia. Chin. J. Agrometeorol. 42, 905-917.
[10] Haverkort A.J., de Ruijter F.J., van Evert F.K., Conijn J.G., Rutgers B., 2013. Worldwide sustainability hotspots in potato cultivation. I. Identification and mapping. Potato Res. 56, 343-353.
[11] Hou X., Li R., 2018. Potato tuber yields in semi-arid environments are increased by tillage and mulching practices. Agron. J. 110, 2641-2651.
[12] Hou X.Q., Niu Y.W., Wu W.L., Xu J.P., Shi L., Tang S.Y., Ma X., Li R., 2018. Effect of planting density on the growth, water use efficiency and yield of dry-farming potato under different rainfall year types. Acta Agron. Sin. 44, 1560-1569.
[13] Jiang Y., Ramsay M., Meng F., Stetson T., 2021. Characterizing potato yield responses to water supply in Atlantic Canada’s humid climate using historical yield and weather data: Implications for supplemental irrigation. Agric. Water Manage. 255, 107047.
[14] Karam F., Amacha N., Fahed S., El Asmar T., Domínguez A., 2014. Response of potato to full and deficit irrigation under semiarid climate: Agronomic and economic implications. Agric. Water Manage. 142, 144-151.
[15] Li Q., Li H., Zhang S., 2018. Yield and water use efficiency of dryland potato in response to plastic film mulching on the Loess Plateau. Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. B-Soil Plant Sci. 68, 175-188.
[16] Li Y., Guan K., Schnitkey G.D., DeLucia E., Peng B., 2019. Excessive rainfall leads to maize yield loss of a comparable magnitude to extreme drought in the United States. Glob. Change Biol. 25, 2325-2337.
[17] Lin W., Liu W., 2016. Establishment and application of spring maize yield to evapotranspiration boundary function in the Loess Plateau of China. Agric. Water Manage. 178, 345-349.
[18] Liu X., Li S., He P., Zhang P., Duan Y., 2018. Yield and nutrient gap analysis for potato in northwest China. J. Agric. Sci. 156, 971-979.
[19] Lyon D.J., Boa F., Arkebauer T.J., 1995. Water-yield relations of several spring-planted dryland crops following winter wheat. J. Prod. Agric. 8, 281-286.
[20] Mamrutha H.M., Rinki K., Venkatesh K., Gopalareddy K., Khan H., Mishra C.N., Kumar S., Kumar Y., Singh G., Singh G.P., 2020. Impact of high night temperature stress on different growth stages of wheat. Plant Physiol. Rep. 25, 707-715.
[21] Mandal K.G., Thakur A.K., Mohanty S., 2018. Planting techniques and irrigation influenced crop growth, light interception and yield-evapotranspiration relationship of potato. Int. J. Plant Prod. 12, 285-296.
[22] Nielsen D.C.,2018. Dry bean water use/yield production function to estimate dryland yields in the U.S. Central High Plains. Field Crops Res. 228, 60-67.
[23] Nielsen D.C., Halvorson A.D., Vigil M.F., 2010. Critical precipitation period for dryland maize production. Field Crops Res. 118, 259-263.
[24] Nielsen D.C., Vigil M.F., 2017a. Defining a dryland grain sorghum production function for the Central Great Plains. Agron. J. 109, 1582-1590.
[25] Nielsen D.C., Vigil M.F., 2017b. Water use and environmental parameters influence proso millet yield. Field Crops Res. 212, 34-44.
[26] Nielsen D.C., Vigil M.F., Benjamin J.G., 2009. The variable response of dryland corn yield to soil water content at planting. Agric. Water Manage. 96, 330-336.
[27] Novick K.A., Ficklin D.L., Stoy P.C., Williams C.A., Bohrer G., Oishi A.C., Papuga S.A., Blanken P.D., Noormets A., Sulman B.N., Scott R.L., Wang L., Phillips R.P., 2016. The increasing importance of atmospheric demand for ecosystem water and carbon fluxes. Nat. Clim. Chang. 6, 1023-1027.
[28] Qin S., Li L.,Wang D., Zhang J., Pu Y., 2013. Effects of limited supplemental irrigation with catchment rainfall on rain-fed potato in semiarid areas on the Western Loess Plateau, China. Am. J. Potato Res. 90, 33-42.
[29] R Core Team, 2021. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation For Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
[30] Sadras V.O.,2020. On water-use efficiency, boundary functions, and yield gaps: French and Schultz insight and legacy. Crop Sci. 60, 2187-2191.
[31] Sadras V.O., Angus J.F., 2006. Benchmarking water-use efficiency of rainfed wheat in dry environments. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 57, 847-856.
[32] Schlegel A.J., Lamm F.R., Assefa Y., Stone L.R., 2018. Dryland corn and grain sorghum yield response to available soil water at planting. Agron. J. 110, 236-245.
[33] Tang J., Wang J., Wang E., Yu Q., Yin H., He D., Pan X., 2018. Identifying key meteorological factors to yield variation of potato and the optimal planting date in the agro-pastoral ecotone in North China. Agric. For. Meteorol. 256, 283-291.
[34] Tanner C.B.,1981. Transpiration efficiency of potato. Agron. J. 73, 59-64.
[35] Wang C., Zang H., Liu J., Shi X., Li S., Chen F., Chu Q., 2020. Optimum nitrogen rate to maintain sustainable potato production and improve nitrogen use efficiency at a regional scale in China. A meta-analysis. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 40, 1-14.
[36] Wang N., Reidsma P., Pronk A.A., de Wit A.J.W., van Ittersum M.K., 2018. Can potato add to China's food self-sufficiency? The scope for increasing potato production in China. Eur. J. Agron. 101, 20-29.
[37] Xiao G., Zhang Q., Yao Y., Yang S., Wang R., Xiong Y., Sun Z., 2007. Effects of temperature increase on water use and crop yields in a pea-spring wheat-potato rotation. Agric. Water Manage. 91, 86-91.
[38] Yuan W., Zheng Y., Piao S., Ciais P., Lombardozzi D., Wang Y., Ryu Y., Chen G., Dong W., Hu Z., Jain A.K., Jiang C., Kato E., Li S., Lienert S., Liu S., Nabel J.E.M.S., Qin Z., Quine T., Sitch S., Smith W.K., Wang F., Wu C., Xiao Z., Yang S., 2019. Increased atmospheric vapor pressure deficit reduces global vegetation growth. Sci. Adv. 5, 1-12.
[39] Zhao F., Lei J., Wang R., Wang H., Zhang K., Yu Q., 2018. Determining agricultural drought for spring wheat with statistical models in a semi-arid climate. J. Agric. Meteorol. 74, 162-172.
[40] Zhao F., Lei J., Wang R., Zhang Q., Qi Y., Zhang K., Guo Q., Wang H., 2022. Environmental determination of spring wheat yield in a climatic transition zone under global warming. Int. J. Biometeorol. 66, 481-491.
[41] Zhao H., Wang R.Y., Ma B.L., Xiong Y.C., Qiang S.C., Wang C.L., Liu C.A., Li F.M., 2014. Ridge-furrow with full plastic film mulching improves water use efficiency and tuber yields of potato in a semiarid rainfed ecosystem. Field Crops Res. 161, 137-148.
[42] Zhao H., Xiong Y.C., Li F.M., Wang R.Y., Qiang S.C., Yao T.F., Mo F., 2012. Plastic film mulch for half growing-season maximized WUE and yield of potato via moisturetemperature improvement in a semi-arid agroecosystem. Agric. Water Manage. 104, 68-78.
Funding
* E-mail addresses: zhaofn@iamcma.cn (F. Zhao), ** zhangqiang@cma.gov.cn (Q. Zhang).
PDF

Accesses

Citations

Detail

Sections
Recommended

/