The Canon of Potato Science: 29. True Potato Seed (TPS)

摘要

True potato seed (TPS) refers to a potato technology based on the use of the sexual seed, also known as botanical seed, true seed, or seed. The term TPS is also used as a synonym of the potato seed. TPS is an alternative to tuber seed for raising seedtubers or table potatoes. TPS is sown in seedbeds to produce minitubers or to raise seedlings for transplanting in the field. In seedbeds, direct seeding is preferred to seedling transplants for earlier harvest. TPS is sown at a high density of 50 to 100 plants per m~2 to produce 400 to 800 healthy minitubers of 1 to 40 g in size per m~2 in 3 to 4 months. Larger tubers are produced at lower plant densities. The minitubers are then utilized for planting a commercial seed crop, with the advantage of keeping the traditional way of growing tuber seed and only adding the management of seedbeds to growers' production practices. Only 20 g TPS seed in 100 m~2 seedbeds are required to produce enough minitubers to plant 1 ha of potatoes.