Abstract
The present study was conducted at the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh and Domar Foundation Seed Potato Production Farm of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Nilphamari during 2000-01 to 2002-03 with the objectives of defining the pre and post-harvest factors that influence the quality of true potato seeds (TPS) and to relate the quality parameters of TPS with growth and yield of seedling tubers. The varieties of TPS used were BARI TPS 1, BARI TPS 2 and TPS 364/67, and all those were hybrid varieties. The seed samples used for the present study were either produced for the present study from Domar BADC Farm or collected from a Ph. D. study conducted at Domar BADC Farm and some public and private sector organizations of Bangladesh. A number of experiments were conducted, which investigated the quality and seedling tuber production ability of (a) TPS produced under different levels of NPK, (b) TPS obtained from berries of different maturity, (c) TPS obtained from berries of different sizes, (d) TPS of different sizes, (e) TPS produced by different public and private sector organizations and (f) TPS of different ages and preserved under different storage conditions. The findings demonstrated that application of NPK fertilizers during growing of seed crop influenced the quality of TPS, and that 215-235-250 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha was the best in respect of seed quality of true potato seed. Berries of hybrid TPS variety 364/67 harvested at full maturity (50-55 days after pollination) and seeds extracted after 10 days of harvest resulted best quality TPS. Medium to large berries of TPS variety BARI TPS 1 (2 cm and above) were best for the production of high quality TPS. Large and medium size seeds of BARI TPS 1 (0.82 and 0.74 g av. wt. of 1000 seeds) performed better than small seeds (0.59 g av. wt. of 1000 seeds). The quality of hybrid TPS produced and marketed by different public and private sector organizations of Bangladesh varied significantly, suggesting the need of setting a quality standard for TPS in Bangladesh. The quality of TPS was found to deteriorate with ageing. Seeds stored better in cool chamber (5ºC) or preserve in a desiccator than stored in a plastic container or polythene bag under ordinary room condition. Correlation studies suggested that 1000 seed weight, % germination in petridish, % field emergence, % normal seedlings and height of normal seedlings could be used as a good indicator of seedling tubers using TPS.