1Central Potato Research Institute, Shimla-171 001, HP, India.
TPS germination and seedling establishment is very poor if seeds are not sown under proper environmental conditions. To find out the optimum environmental conditions for true potato seed (TPS) germination and seedling growth, a series of experiments were conducted in growth chambers at 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 °C in combination with 12, 14 and 16 h photoperiod. Temperature had the major effect on seed germination and seedling growth followed by interaction of temperature with photoperiod and photoperiod alone. The optimum photoperiod for seed germination and seedling growth was 12 h. The optimum temperature for seed germination was found to be 24–26°C, whereas optimum root and shoot growth occurred at 28–30 °C.
