Effect of synthetic and natural water-absorbing soil amendments on photosynthesis characteristics and tuber nutritional quality of potato in a semi-arid region.

Background: The effect of water-absorbing soil amendments on photosynthesis characteristics and tuber nutritional quality was investigated in a field experiment in a semi-arid region in northern China in 2010-2012. Treatments included two synthetic water-absorbing amendments, potassium polyacrylate (PAA) and polyacrylamide (PAM), and one natural amendment, humic acid (HA), both as single amendments and compound amendments (HA combined with PAA or PAM), and a no amendment control.

Results: Soil amendments had a highly significant effect (P ≤ 0.01) on photosynthesis characteristics, dry biomass, crop root/shoot (R/S) ratio and tuber nutritional quality. They improved both dry biomass above ground and dry biomass underground in the whole growing season by 4.6-31.2 and 1.1-83.1% respectively in all three years. Crop R/S ratio was reduced in the early growing season by 2.0-29.4% and increased in the later growing season by 2.3-32.6%. Soil amendments improved leaf soil plant analysis development value, net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration rate by 1.4-17.0, 5.1-45.9, 2.4-90.6 and 2.0-22.6% respectively and reduced intercellular CO2 concentration by 2.1-19.5% in all three years.

Conclusion: Amendment treatment with PAM + HA always had the greatest effect on photosynthesis characteristics and tuber nutritional quality among all amendment treatments and thus merits further research.