It also comes into play for a few other reasons. Commercial potatoes in Europe and North America have all been bred and selected for determinism. Even long season commercial potatoes are determinate.
Many South American potatoes are indeterminate. There are a few potential benefits to this, containers aside. A longer growing season can result in higher yields, assuming the plant is daylength sensitivel. Daylength sensitive potates are adapted for short daylengths of under 13 hours, so in temperate climates, they do not start tuberizing until September in the northern hemisphere. An indeterminate trait combined with daylength sensitivity means a potential harvest, whereas if the daylength sensitive plant is determinate, it may senesce well before September, resulting in very low yields.
Many diploids or high flavor potato lines can be daylength sensitive, making them difficult to grow in the northern hemisphere without a long growing season.
|