Conventional techniques of seed production involves the use of potatoes that are propagated by harvesting and replanting the tuber in the field, and is routinely used by farmers.
Although the method is suitable for small scale farmers, it has several disadvantages like disease and pest infestation, labor intensive, time and weather dependent, low yield (8 tubers per plant per growing season), and high land requirement, if seed produced at commercial level.
Tissue culture technique, another method of seed production. is poorly adopted by farmers due to several reasons, and has limited to production of disease and virus free initial plant material.
Production of disease and virus-free tubers for planting is a major challenge. To overcome the problem of quality potato seed tubers, aeroponics system technology has been introduced for potato seed production. Introduction of this technology in the production of the tubers has revolutionized the potato seed production scenario across the globe.
Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium.
The technology is to grow plants suspended in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the plants hanging roots and lower stem with an atomized or sprayed, nutrient-rich water solution.
The technology has been successfully used for producing pre-basic potato seed with higher yields (up to 10times higher) more quickly, more sustainably, and with greater profits than conventional methods.
Aeroponic systems are more cost effective than other systems. Because of the reduced volume of solution throughput, less water and fewer nutrients are needed in the system at any given time compared to other nutrient delivery systems.
The need for substrates is also eliminated, as is the need for many moving parts.It uses nutrient solution recirculation hence, a limited amount of water and nutrient is used.
