Genomics and Applied Biology 2026, Vol.17, No.1, 51-60 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/gab 53 number of tubers per plant and the average weight of the tubers decrease too rapidly, and the newly added plants are unable to make up for the loss. The yield then begins to decline. Therefore, only by controlling the density within an appropriate range can the various yield factors be relatively coordinated (Ierna et al., 2011; Meng et al., 2025). 3 Impact of Different Planting Densities on Potato Yield 3.1 Density gradient setup and field experiment design Before discussing the potato yield, the factor of density is often repeatedly mentioned, but its specific impact is not always clear. In this experiment, the comparison was directly carried out in the field by setting multiple planting densities to directly observe the differences. All treatments used the same variety, only adjusting the plant spacing, and other management measures were kept as consistent as possible to avoid the results being influenced by other factors. In terms of density arrangement, both the conventional planting method as a control was retained, and situations of moderate density and sparse density were also included. During the growth period, the growth of the plants was continuously monitored, and at the harvest stage, indicators such as the number of tubers formed, the weight of individual tubers, and the yield per unit area were concentratedly recorded. Through such an arrangement, the changes in yield under different densities can be presented more clearly, laying the foundation for subsequent analysis (Figure 1) (Ierna et al., 2011; Meng et al., 2025). Figure 1 Correlation and Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS) analysis of photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs), intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci ), ribose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco) activities, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) activities, and potato tuber yield under the interaction of nitrogen and density. Solid lines of orange two-way arrows and orange numbers indicate the correlation and correlation coefficient between indicators; solid lines of blue one-way arrows indicate the direct relationship and direct regression coefficient between indicators; dotted lines of blue one-way arrows and black numbers indicate indirect relationship and indirect regression coefficient between indicators. * and ** indicate statistically significant p-values at less than 0.05 and 0.01, respectively (Adopted from Meng et al., 2025) 3.2 Changes in yield per plant and per unit area under different densities Often, the growth of individual plants does not exactly match the final total yield. When the plants are planted relatively sparsely in the field, each plant does produce heavier tubers. However, with a smaller number of plants, the yield per unit area is not advantageous. When the density is increased, the yield per plant begins to decrease. But with a larger number of plants contributing to tuber formation, the yield per unit area actually increases. There was a turning point in the experiment, where the yield reached its peak within a moderate density range.
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