Effects of Growing Media on Growth and Yield of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) under a Hydroponic Drip System

The limited efficiency of conventional seed potato production systems highlights the need for alternative cultivation strategies to improve productivity and planting material quality. Hydroponic systems offer a promising solution; however, comparative evidence regarding suitable growing media for potato production under tropical highland greenhouse conditions remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of potato variety and growing medium on plant growth and tuber yield under a hydroponic drip irrigation system. A factorial experiment was conducted using two potato varieties (Granola L and Tedjo MZ) and two growing media (rice husk charcoal and cocopeat), arranged in a completely randomized design with ten replicates. Plants were cultivated under greenhouse conditions and supplied with a commercial AB-mix nutrient solution. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance followed by the least significant difference test at the 1% significance level. The results showed that growing medium significantly affected all measured growth and yield parameters, whereas potato variety and the interaction between factors had no significant effects. Cocopeat produced greater plant height (50.70 cm), number of leaves (61.65 plant⁻¹), tuber number (19.35 tubers plant⁻¹), tuber fresh weight (466.87 g plant⁻¹), and tuber volume (404.28 cm³ plant⁻¹) than rice husk charcoal. In conclusion, substrate selection was the key factor influencing hydroponic potato performance under the tested conditions, and cocopeat was the more suitable medium for improving seed potato production efficiency in tropical highland regions and similar environments worldwide sustainably.