Materials and methods
Location and crop details
The research was carried out in a research glasshouse and tunnel at Welgevallen, Stellenbosch, the experimental farm of the University of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape of South Africa. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in vitro plantlets from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) were used for these studies (Plate B1 in the appendix). The cultivar BP1 was selected for this investigation since this cultivar is well adapted to the Western Cape climate with high minituber productivity. BP1 is a medium maturing cultivar which generally takes 90 to 110 days before maturing with a short dormancy period of about 50 to 70 days (Kempen 2007).
The in vitro plantlets were transplanted on Friday, the 21th of September 2012 into polystyrene seedling trays containing a mixture of vermiculite (50%) and perlite (50%) and placed in a temperature controlled glasshouse at 15/20oC night/day temperatures and a relative humidity (RH) of at least 60%. Seedling trays were kept covered with a transparent polyethylene sheet to maintain the high RH. Plantlets were irrigated twice daily with a nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.5 mS.cm-1. Plants were transplanted to a naturally ventilated polyethylene covered tunnel on the 25th of October 2012.
Air mists were activated between 11:00 and 15:00 with the aim of reducing the air temperature and keeping the RH above 60%. After 25 days, the top part of the structure was covered up with a 40% aluminet shade net (Knittex Shade Net®) in order to reduce the light intensity and heat in the greenhouse as midday temperatures were approaching 40oC. The aeroponics system was made up of different mini chambers each consisting of a large compartment of 1 m deep, 1.25 m wide and 1.20 m in length, which had two
Materials and methods
Location and crop details
The research was carried out in a research glasshouse and tunnel at Welgevallen, Stellenbosch, the experimental farm of the University of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape of South Africa. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in vitro plantlets from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) were used for these studies (Plate B1 in the appendix). The cultivar BP1 was selected for this investigation since this cultivar is well adapted to the Western Cape climate with high minituber productivity. BP1 is a medium maturing cultivar which generally takes 90 to 110 days before maturing with a short dormancy period of about 50 to 70 days (Kempen 2007).
The in vitro plantlets were transplanted on Friday, the 21th of September 2012 into polystyrene seedling trays containing a mixture of vermiculite (50%) and perlite (50%) and placed in a temperature controlled glasshouse at 15/20oC night/day temperatures and a relative humidity (RH) of at least 60%. Seedling trays were kept covered with a transparent polyethylene sheet to maintain the high RH. Plantlets were irrigated twice daily with a nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.5 mS.cm-1. Plants were transplanted to a naturally ventilated polyethylene covered tunnel on the 25th of October 2012.
Air mists were activated between 11:00 and 15:00 with the aim of reducing the air temperature and keeping the RH above 60%. After 25 days, the top part of the structure was covered up with a 40% aluminet shade net (Knittex Shade Net®) in order to reduce the light intensity and heat in the greenhouse as midday temperatures were approaching 40oC. The aeroponics system was made up of different mini chambers each consisting of a large compartment of 1 m deep, 1.25 m wide and 1.20 m in length, which had two
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
