Some effects of seed source on early growth in Maris Peer potatoes

Potato seed tubers cv. Maris Peer obtained from a number of sources in England and Scotland were graded into a range of weights and after storage for approximately 3 or 7 months in 1971 or 3 months in 1972 they were planted to determine the effect of seed source on early foliage growth. In both years there were large differences between seed sources on the effect of seed tuber weight on the dry weight of foliage produced in a glasshouse from seed stored for 3 months. In some instances small seed from one source produced the same weight of foliage as large seed from another source. In 1971 after seed storage for 7 months there was no effect of source on foliage dry weight produced in the field. There was, however, no consistent effect of the site of production of the parent seed, of fertilizer treatments of the seed crop, or of N content of the seed tubers. Seed tuber N content increased, though not proportionally, with an increase in seed weight. It was unaffected by source except for seed tubers from one site m 1972.