Recommendation for french fry potato?

**Tom Wagner** · May 23, 2013

Patently false? I beg to differ.....

I would rather trust Idaho, Oregon, and Virginia studies on seed piece size as to yield and tuber size.

I know these guys in Idaho...

http://www.cals.uidaho.edu/edcomm/pdf/CIS/CIS1031.pdf

Seed piece size...spacing...and yield...
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/cX6ucJG.png?1[/IMG]

Physiological age of tubers
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/Xm6zPMs.png?1[/IMG]

The following abstract by Ken Rykbost is one that I know about since I have been to the Klamath potato station and tallked with Mr. Rykbost and even spent an evening with him at his home. I seen the difference in the plots as to the size of seed piece and tuber size.

Abstract

Effect of seed piece size on performance of three potato varieties in the Klamath Basin of Oregon

K. A. Rykbost

Quote:

A survey of cut seed lots from Klamath Basin commercial potato operations showed poor uniformity of seed piece size and numerous undersize seed pieces in most of the 18 seed lots examined over two years. Experiments were conducted in 1995, 1996, and 1997 to evaluate effects of seed piece size on the performance of Russet Burbank, Russet Norkotah, and Century Russet cultivars. Weighed seed tubers were cut into four pieces to obtain seed piece sizes of 21, 35, 50, 64, and 78 g (+/-2 g). Seed pieces less than 50 g resulted in delayed emergence and reduced stem numbers in all varieties. Effects of seed piece size on yield and tuber size distribution were greatest for Century Russet and least for Russet Norkotah, but were significant for all varieties over the three-year study. Increasing seed piece size increased yield of U.S. No.1 and total yield, while reducing tuber size. An economic analysis, based on crop values for fresh market use and seed costs, found optimum seed piece sizes of 64 g for Russet Burbank and Century Russet and 50 g for Russet Norkotah.

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2906/2906-1391/2906-1391.html

There could be some neat algorithms if one could do an overlay of
Response of physiologically young and old seed and tuber seed piece size and or whole planted tubers. Tie that with apical dominance and you would have a complicated but repeatable approach to potato production even in the home garden.