Mitigation of heat stress in potato through calcium nutrition

Application of supplemental calcium (0, 80, 160, 240 kg ha⁻¹) through gypsum in sandy loam soils resulted in improved cell membrane thermo-stability in potato cultivar Kufri Surya. The growth parameters (leaf number plant⁻¹ and leaf/stem ratio) were not significantly affected, and the tuber and biological yields remained at par with control up to 60 DAP. However, at 75 DAP improved tuber yield (229 g plant⁻¹) and biological yield (333 g plant⁻¹) were recorded at 80 kg Ca ha⁻¹ over control (181 and 262 g plant⁻¹, respectively). The study suggests that Ca treated plants were better equipped to mitigate heat-stress.