Loretta J. Mikitzel 1
and Peter K. Scott 1
Partner: Potatoes New Brunswick
Abstract: During the 2000 growing season, 16 different chemical seed piece treatments were evaluated at Hartland, NB using freshly-cut Shepody seed. Lime, Easeout (Senator), Tuberseal, Maxim, NCF-003, NCF-005, NCF-006, 50% Tuberseal + 50% Easeout, 75% Tuberseal + 25% Easeout, G-28, G-89, EH, Clean Crop and Polyram 16 were dusted onto the seed pieces. Ridomil Gold MZ was applied in-furrow, as was Admire. Two additional treatments were included, GX676 foliar spray and EH seed piece dust + GX676 foliar spray. Control seed pieces were left untreated. The trial was planted on May 31, 2000 and grown for 106 days. EH, a plant growth regulator type of seed treatment, was the only treatment to influence emergence rate and significantly increase the number of stems produced per plant. EH also reduced average tuber weight by 25% to 3.9 ounces. No significant treatment effect was found for total tuber yield which averaged 296 cwt/A and ranged from a low of 260 cwt/A (EH+GX676) to a high of 336 cwt/A (75% Tuberseal + 25% Easeout). The percent marketable tubers averaged 86% for all treatments. 1 Potato Development Center, New Brunswick Dept. of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, 39 Barker Lane, Wicklow, NB, E7L 3S4
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