Phosphorus Uptake, Use Efficiency, and Response of Potato Cultivars to Phosphorus Levels

Utilization of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars with greater phosphorus (P) efficiency and response to application of this nutrient is essential to maximize yield, mainly in tropical soils that usually have low P availability. An experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in order to evaluate the P uptake rate and the P efficiency for dry matter (DM) production and tuber yield of five potato cultivars (Agata, Asterix, Atlantic, Markies, and Mondial) under low (15 mg dm(-3) P) and high (150 mg dm(-3) P) P levels. Plants were grown in pots containing 35 dm(3) of a Typic Acrortox soil (31% clay, 4% silt, and 65% sand). Mondial and Agata produced high tuber yield under both P levels due to a high P efficiency. Mondial and Asterix were responsive to P applied regarding the tuber DM production and tuber yield. At high P levels, Asterix, which was inefficient and responsive to P application, had similar tuber yield than Agata, which was P efficient and non-responsive. Potato cultivars, such as Markies and Atlantic, which were inefficient and responsive to P application regarding shoot or whole plant DM production, might not produce high tuber yield if the DM partitioning to the tubers is low.