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Potato Facts: Did you know that...

The Potato Plant

The potato plant consists of roots, stolons, tubers, stems, branches, flowers, and fruits. The roots are generally fibrous arising generally in groups of three at the nodes of underground stems. In the absence of physical or chemical impedances, roots can vigorously grow and spread beyond the rooting zone. But in severely eroded and compacted soils, root growth is limited to a shallow layer.
Stems
The stems are generally green but can be red, purple, angular and nonwoody. The number of stems per plant is generally cultivar specific. Stem number apparently is determined by the number of eyes that initiate growth and survive and so is an intrinsic characteristic unaffected by changes in temperature. Stem length, however, increases with temperature as elevation increases. Furthermore, stems become thin and elongated as temperature increases beyond 30 oC. Branches per stem also increase with temperature as elevation decreases but plants exposed to extremely high temperatures generally have fewer branches and reduced leaf area.
Leaves
Adult plants have pinnately compound leaves while young plants have single ones. In young plants, the rate of leaf area expansion is closely related to available carbohydrate, initially from the seedpiece, increasingly supplemented and then replaced by photosynthate. After the carbohydrate reserve in the seed is depleted, the rate of leaf increase is strongly influenced by the environment, especially temperature, water, and available nitrogen. Overall, the maximum leaf area index (LAI) for the potato at populations of 38,000 to 44,000 plants/ha is about 3.5 to 5.0 in temperate zones. In the tropics, a maximum LAI comparable to that of temperate zones is attained within 20 days after tuber initiation which begins about 40 to 42 DAP.
Stolons
Stolons and tubers are the most important underground parts of the potato plant. A potato stolon may be defined as a stem, commonly a lateral stem, showing negligible leaf expansion, which grows diageotropically. Stolons normally appear within seven to ten days after emergence in cultivated species. Stolon length varies from less than 2.5 cm to 45 or more.
Tubers
The potato tuber is a modified stem with its main axis greatly shortened and its lateral members only weakly developed. Tuberization occurs when the elongation of the stolons ceases followed by lateral proliferation of the storage tissues.

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