Regional growers have expressed an interest in the feasibility of producing potatoes on wide beds. Using wide beds decreases compaction and may increase water available to the crop due to the elimination of postplanting cultivation, or hilling, required in conventional rows. The middle row of wide beds may have cooler soil temperatures than the other rows in the bed. In addition, wide beds allowed for a planting density 1.5-times greater than conventional rows, which could significantly increase yields. Potatoes, `Atlantic', were planted mid-March into conventional rows on 38-inch centers and 6-foot 4-inch-wide beds, each bed with three rows. Plots were 50 feet long. Initial soil moisture contents in the middle of the bed, the outer rows of the bed and the conventional rows were not significantly different. Initial soil temperature data suggests that fluctuations in temperature are greatest in the conventional rows and least in the middle row of the wide beds. Soil temperature and soil moisture are reported. Marketable yields from wide beds are compared to marketable yields from conventional rows. Influence on potato size distribution and quality factors also are reported.
BOREAS TF-09 SSA-OBS TOWER FLUX, METEOROLOGICAL, AND SOIL TEMPERATURE DATA