Annotation

In 2018–2019, in the conditions of Husiatyn district of Ternopil region (Cold Podillya zone) on dark gray pidzolic soil, the experimental studies on the comparative evaluation of potato varieties of the European selection of different maturity groups were conducted. The research was conducted with 9 varieties of potatoes of foreign origin: early Vineta (Germany); middle-early – Opal (Germany), Romano (Netherlands); medium-ripe – Aurea (France), Carrera (Netherlands), Suzanne (Germany); medium-late – Eurostarch (Germany), Rumba (Germany), Sifra (Netherlands). The following varieties were taken for control: for the middle-early group – Opal; medioum-ripe – Carrera and medium-late – Eurostarch. All studied varieties of potatoes of the European selection are included in the State Register of plant varieties recommended for distribution in Ukraine.

The task of the research was to evaluate different foreign varieties on the yield of tubers, to examine the varieties concerning formation of elements of crop structure, to study the importance of the variety for formation of tuber quality indicators, and in particular the accumulation of starch and its output per unit area. Potato varieties were planted with a plant feeding area of 70 × 28–30 cm at the rate of providing a density of 50 thousand bushes per hectare.

It is established that the early-ripe variety of potato called Vineta (Germany) was the best in its group – on average for 2018–2019, its yield was 41.31 t/ha, which is 14.17 t/ha, or by 52.2 % more than the yield of control Opal (Germany) – 27.14 t/ha. In the group of medium-ripe varieties, the best yield was a new variety of potato of German selection called Suzanne (in the State Register of Plant Varieties of Ukraine since 2017) – the average yield was 31.85 t/ha, which was by 2.49 t/ha more than the yield of the control variety Carrera – 29.36 t/ha. The highest average yield was provided by the medium-late potato variety of Dutch selection called Cifra – 33.36 t/ha, which was by 7.06 t/ha, or 26.8 % more than the control variety Eurostarch – 26.30 t/ha.

In production conditions, the largest number of marketable tubers was formed by new varieties of potatoes of German selection, i.e. Vineta – 10.9 tubers / bush, Suzanne – 12.0 and Rumba – 10.9 tubers/bush and a new variety of potatoes of French selection Aurea – 11.0 tubers / bush. The mid-late variety Sifra and the medium-ripe variety Carrera were characterized by large tubers – the average weight of marketable tubers was quite high and amounted to 139 and 135 g, respectively. It was found that the foreign potato varieties Vineta, Suzanne, Aurea, Rumba provided the level of final yield that was largely determined by the number of marketable tubers formed under the bush, and in varieties Romano, Carrera, Eurostarch, Sifra – their size.

According to the research, in the group of early and middle-early foreign varieties of potatoes, the highest starch content in tubers was recorded in the middle-early variety of German selection Opal: 16.4 % in 2018 and 17.2 % in 2019. In the middle-ripe group, the highest starch content accumulated Suzanne variety (Germany) – 17.8 % in 2018 and 21.2 % in 2019. The increased and high starch content in tubers was characterized by medium-late potato varieties of German selection such as Eurostarch and Rumba: 17.2 and 17.5 % in 2018 and 20.6 and 19.1 % in 2019, respectively, which indicated a significant role of genotype in starch accumulation.

Under the farm conditions, certain varieties of potatoes of foreign selection can ensure the collection of starch at the level of 5–6 t/ha, which makes it possible to use their tubers for technical processing. These include: Romano – the average starch yield from 2018–2019. It amounted to 5.798 t/ha, Vineta – 5.824 t/ha, Suzanne – 6.210 t/ha, Eurostarch – 4.970 t/ha.

On the basis of a comprehensive assessment of nine foreign varieties of potatoes, it is proposed to expand the cultivation areas for the early ripening variety Vineta, middle-early Romano, medium-ripe Suzanne and medium-late Sifra at the potato farms of the Husiatyn district of Ternopil region. At the same time, it is advisable to grow the varieties Romano, Suzanne and Eurostarch for the needs of potato processing enterprises.