Potato and Tuber Crops

Storage of Stakes

• Fresh stakes from mature plants are ideal for obtaining best results. However, when they are not available due to prolonged drought or even excess moisture; many producers have to preserve the stem before it is being used for cultivation.
• Long storage causes loss of moisture and stems are also exposed to many pests.
• For any storage method, stakes must be mature when stored and must not be stored in wet conditions or allowed to get wet.
• Uncut stems can be usually stored in shady, well ventilated areas.
• In southern Mexico, bundles of stakes are kept upside down under mango trees as long as 8 weeks. In the south of Brazil, stakes are stored up to 8 weeks horizontally in the open. Storing the stakes for a period of 15 days has been observed to give maximum sprouting (96 %) as compared to planting fresh stakes (90 %).
• Storage beyond 60 days resulted in the loss of the viability of the planting material and sprouting was less than 75 %. Stems stored in vertical or in inverted position gave better sprouting when compared to horizontal storage. Under hot climatic conditions, the stakes are stored in zero energy cool chambers as practised in some parts of Andhra Pradesh.