[Sink-source relationship of potato plants and its role involved in the reduction of tuber yield in continuous cropping system].

The Yellow River irrigation area in middle Gansu Province is one of the main production bases for processing potato and potato tuber seeds in China. However, continuous potato cropping (CPC), resulting from intensive cultivation, has been affecting the sound development of the potato industry. A long-term field experiment was carried out in order to reveal the mechanisms of CPC obstacles.

[Control of continuous potato monoculture barrier via biological soil disinfestation method in Yellow River irrigation areas of central Gansu Province, Northwest China].

The potential of biological soil disinfestation (BSD) in control of continuous potato monoculture barrier was investigated in present study. BSD involves the induction of soil reduction conditions through incorporation of easily decomposed organic materials into soil, flooding the soil by irrigation, and covering the soil surface with plastic film. Control (CK) was left without cover and organic amendment as well as flooding.

[Identification of chemicals in root exudates of potato and their effects on Rhizoctonia solani].

This study was conducted to identify chemicals in root exudates and their effect on Rhizoctonia solani in potato cropping systems. Root exudates were collected from the fields with 5 years of continuous potato cropping in comparison with rotational cropping of potato and other crops, using in-house made root boxes at the seedling and squaring stages. Chemicals in the root exudates were identified using the GC-MS method.

[Characteristics of dry matter and potassium accumulation and distribution in potato plant in semi-arid rainfed areas].

In 2010, a field experiment with potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivar 'Xindaping' was conducted at the Dingxi Extension Center of Gansu Province, Northwest China, aimed to understand the accumulation and distribution patterns of dry matter (DM) and potassium (K) in the organs of potato plant in semi-arid rainfed areas. During the whole growth period of the cultivar, the DM accumulation in root, stem, and leaf all showed a unimodal curve, with the DM accumulation rate being leaf > stem > root, whereas the DM accumulation in whole plant and tuber was an S-curve. The maximum DM accumulation rate of the whole plant was higher than that of the tuber, and appeared 17 days earlier.

[Fungal population structure and its biological effect in rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped potato].

Continuous cropping obstacle is one of the main restriction factors in potato industry. In order to explore the mechanisms of potato's continuous cropping obstacle and to reduce the impact on potato's tuber yield, a field experiment combined with PCR-DGGE molecular fingerprinting was conducted to investigate the fungal population structure and its biological effect in rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped potato. With the increasing year of potato' s continuous cropping, the numbers of visible bands in rhizosphere fungal DGGE profiles increased obviously.