Yacon potato propagation from herbaceous cuttings with different numbers of buds

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate yacon potato propagation from herbaceous cuttings with different numbers of buds. Therefore, an experiment was carried out in two phases. The first phase was carried out in a greenhouse with seedlings using a randomized complete block design with 40 replicates. The treatments consisted of varying the number of buds per cutting: two buds (T1), three buds (T2), or four buds (T3). The second phase was carried out in the field following a randomized complete block design with 4 replicates, and the treatments were the same as those used in the seedling phase. The following morphological characteristics were evaluated: number of leaves per plant, leaf area, plant height, stem diameter, number of stems per plant, leaf dry mass, stems, rhizophores, tuberous roots, and tuberous root yield. The physiological characteristics evaluated were the relative chlorophyll content (FCI - Falker chlorophyll index), net CO₂ assimilation rate, leaf transpiration, stomatal conductance, internal CO₂ concentration, water use efficiency and instantaneous carboxylation efficiency. It was observed that the seedlings from cuttings with 3 buds presented higher stomatal conductance (g_s), which reflected their higher transpiration rates. The yacon potato presented the best vegetative and productive development when propagated by herbaceous cuttings with three buds.