Vol. 127 (2014): Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society
Vegetable

Optimizing gypsum rate for commercial potato production in northeast Florida

Guodong Guodong Liu
UF
Steven Sargent
UF
Benjamin Hogue
UF
David Dinkins
UF
Steven Lands
UF
2014 Proceedings Florida State Horticultural Society Volume 127

Published 2018-03-15

Abstract

Calcium (Ca) is essential for potato production. Gypsum (1,000 to 2,000 lb/acre) is usually used as a calcium fertilizer source in the Hastings production area. Based on calcium requirement of potato plants, the gypsum application rate seems too high. To optimize gypsum application rate and enhance phosphorus (P) use efficiency, a gypsum trial was conducted with potato (var. ‘Red LaSoda’) on private farm land in Spring 2013. There were four treatments: 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 lbs/acre of gypsum with four replicates using a randomized complete-block (RCB) design. The marketable tuber yields ranged from 31,519 to 34,056 lbs/acre, with no significant differences due to gypsum application rate. The specific gravity averaged 1.051 and there were no internal quality defects for any treatments. These data showed that there was not any significant difference in tuber yield or tuber internal quality between the treatments in this single-season study. Therefore, there is a great potential to decrease gypsum application rate without sacrificing tuber yield and quality. This decrease of gypsum application may increase P use efficiency and improve the profitability and sustainability of commercial potato production in the Hastings production area.