Multiple versus single harvest comparison for two potato cultivars with an aeroponic system in Indonesia

One of the main reasons for the high potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber production in aeroponics is that tubers can be harvested repeatedly selectively without damaging the plant or disturbing the development of other tubers.This study aimed to explore the potential of multiple harvests to increase the number of potato tubers with an aeroponic system in Indonesia on two potato cultivars ('Atlantic Malang' and 'Granola L').The experimental design used a split plot design, namely the cultivars as the main plot and harvest system as the subplot with three replicates.Multiple harvest began at the age of 8 wk after transplanting (WAT) every 2 wk, while single harvest for 'Granola L' was carried out at the age of 12 WAT and 'Atlantic Malang' at the age of 16 WAT.The results showed that there were three clusters with a principal component analysis value of 87,3%, namely: 1) 'Atlantic Malang' with multiple harvests, 2) 'Atlantic Malang' with single harvests, and 3) 'Granola L' both single and multiple harvests.The high-growth 'Atlantic Malang' responded differently to the harvest system, while the low-growth 'Granola L' responded similar to the harvest system.Multiple harvests not only increased number of total tubers by 36%, but also improved tuber quality with adjustable tuber size and reduced the number of rotten tubers per plot by 96% in 'Atlantic Malang' and 100% in 'Granola L'.