Eight vermiculite-based root media prepared with addition of complete fertilizer (2 g/L; N-P2 O5 -K2 O, 10-10-14) for potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) and a commercial root medium were evaluated in 2000 to develop the root media suitable for potato plug seedling production. The eight media consisted of various ratios of vermiculite, perlite, peatmoss, and compost. In addition, four rates (0, 1, 2, or 4 g/L) of the complex fertilizer for potato were added to a root medium (70% vermiculite, 10% perlite, 10% peat moss, and 10% compost by volume) to determine the optimum addition rate of the complex fertilizer for plug seedlings. Compost addition to the media increased plant height, the number of leaves per plant, and top and root fresh weight of 15-day old plug seedlings. The seedlings raised in root media containing compost produced significantly higher total tuber yield. Addition of the complex fertilizer to root media enhanced seedling growth and increased the number of tubers per plant and tuber yields. The results suggest that root media containing 50% vermiculite, 0 to 20% peat moss, 10% perlite, 20 to 40% compost, and 2 g/L complex fertilizer for potato appear suitable for potato plug seedling production.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g were planted in plug trays with vermiculite-based root medium on 10 August 2000 and grown for 15 days in a glasshouse to determine the effects of mini-tuber size on plug seedling growth and field performance of plug seedlings. For a control, common potato tubers weighing 50 g were also planted. As size of seed tubers planted increased from 10 to 50 g, seedling height decreased from 24.6 to 20.0cm while shoot number per seedling increased from 2.0 to 3.5, main stem diameter from 4.3 to 6.1mm, and fresh weight of root + top from 9.3 to 19.4 g/seedling. At 90 days after transplanting plug seedlings, the total number of tubers per plant increased from 3.62 to 4.72, average tuber weight from 62.9 to 72.8g, and total tuber yield 20.5 to 23.6 t/ha with increase in seed tuber size. Plug seedlings raised from 50g tubers produced 22% more tubers per plant and had 21 % higher＞80g tuber yield than the directly planted potatoes.

For the mass production of plug seedlings in cultivar ‘Dejima’ potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) the optimal apical cutting diameter for rooting and rapid multiplication of stem cuttings in hydroponics were determined. In addition, the best planting date was predicted to increase tuber yield of plug seedlings at fall cropping in Cheju-Do, Korea. Days to initial rooting decreased as the cutting diameter was reduced. Plant height, leaf number, root length and root weight per plant were favorable as the cutting diameter was small. The ideal cutting diameter was 1-2 mm in this experiment. In the hydroponic cultures, the Japanese standard (JS) nutrient solution was the most effective for multiplication of stem cuttings. It was able to propagate more than 20 times a month from a single mother plant. Viability of plants, which were derived from plug seedlings using stem cuttings, was excellent when transplanted to the field. The number of tubers and tuber yield in both of the plug seedlings and seed potato planting plots were high when planted on 25 August. The number and yield were reduced when planted on 15 August, 5 September and 15 September. The degree of decrease of tuber yield in the plug seedling planting plot however, was lower than that of seed potatoes when the planting date was late. In the case of small tubers (under 30 g), the number of tubers and tuber yield were evidently increased in the seed potato tuber planting plot; the yield of large tuber (over 80g) in the plug seedling planting plot was higher than that of the seed potato. The total tuber yield per plant in the plug seedling planting plot was less than that of the seed potato; therefore, in order to increase tuber yield it was necessary to increase field plant density.