The Effect of Potato Ridge Height and Harvest Date on Tuber Injuries

A potato experiment was conducted from 2004 to 2006 at the Zawady Experimental Farm. The farm is part of the University of Natural Sciences and Humanities in Siedlce, Poland. Tuber infection and injury by diseases and pathogens of three potato cultivars were assessed according to the potato ridge height and harvest date. The weight of mechanically injured tubers was also determined depending on the potato ridge height and harvest date. The weight of potato tubers infected by fungal and bacterial diseases was influenced by the cultivar, growing season, harvest date, and ridge height. Potatoes grown to their standard height and height ridges, were significantly less infected by diseases at the first harvest date. The weight of tubers in which the tubers were injured by soil pests, was affected by the cultivar and ridge height. Potatoes cultivated in a ridge which was 20 cm high, had tubers with significantly less mechanical injuries compared with a low (16 cm) ridge and high (24 cm) ridge.