Inducing potato flowers

[Joseph Lofthouse]

In my mainstream potato patch this year only one plant produced seeds. Why only that one plant? The stem was broke just above soil level so that only about 1/4 of the diameter of the stem was still intact. I'm wondering if next year I aughta cut or break more stems to see if that really does encourage flowering.

There are plenty of fruits on the plants grown from botanical seeds. That's to be expected since I am selecting for potatoes that produce fruits.

[DarJones]

One of the best documented effects in plant propagation is that girdling triggers flowering. Avocado trees are very well known for this effect. Macadamias MUST be girdled to enable collection of scionwood that will successfully graft to a rootstock. Muscadines are commonly propagated by a variation of girdling. I suspect you have found a similar effect that induces flowering in potatoes. Nice to know item too, I may try it next year with some of my hard-to-reproduce potatoes.

DarJones

[Joseph Lofthouse]

Thanks. Girdling sounds really nice... I was having all sorts of fears about how I could break the stem part way without busting it all the way off. But I could easily girdle the stem with a knife blade.

[Joseph Lofthouse]

An article I just read suggests that soft copper wire was the best method they tried in a potato girdling study.

www.springerlink.com/content/51w2782167q31646/

Regards,
Joseph

[woodsygardener]

I just posted in 'My cantaloupe breeding patch':

Aug 16, 2010, 8:04am, joseph wrote:
And from his book: 'They spoke of “first finding a genetic source of resistance”. It will become apparent later that this belief became a shibboleth, a myth, that has both dominated and plagued the whole of twentieth century crop science.'
www.sharebooks.ca/system/files/Return-to-Resistance.pdf


What a fantastic book, thanks.
With just a brief look thru I found a gem. Graft potato stems to tomato roots to induce flowering. (p 344)

[Joseph Lofthouse]

woodsygardener: Welcome to homegrown goodness. I will benefit for years because of the line of thinking you induced regarding potato blossoms.

Thanks,
Joseph