Irrigation Practices with Potatoes

Data from five years of experimentation with irrigation and soil moisture levels indicate that a certain knowledge and general understanding of these factors is important in potato production. Nine treatments ranging from a constant very wet level to a constant dry treatment were used. Yield differences were significant and varied from a low of 321 cwt, from plants exposed to a very wet (18-20 centibars tension) level early in the season followed by a dry (75-80 centibars tension) condition during the last part of the growing season, to 416 cwt where the plants were kept at a dry level early and changed to a very wet level late in the season. Growers often unknowingly reduce yields and lower quality by applying excessive amounts of irrigation water