Göttingen University research team analyses different cultivars of tuber Phosphorus is an essential plant nutrient that is becoming increasingly scarce around the world. This means the fertiliser has to be used as efficiently as possible and any loss of nutrients due to leaching and erosion must be minimised. This is challenging for potato farmers, as potatoes need a lot of phosphorus due to their weak root systems. A research team from the University of Göttingen has investigated how a limited phosphorus supply affects the efficiency of plants to use phosphorus and the quality of resulting tubers. The results were published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science . "Although the consequences of low phosphorus levels on growth in potatoes are well known, so far there has been little research about how efficiently the individual varieties use this fertiliser and whether the tuber quality is affected," explains first author Leangsrun Chea from the Division of Quality of Plant Products at Göttingen University. The researchers grew and analysed six varieties of potato at three different levels of phosphorus in the soil.
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