A comparison of the growth cycles between common potato Solanum tuberosum and the newly identified “rad-potato” Solanum belyakovii.
Field Researcher A. Belyakova PhD MSc BSc(hons)
41st Foot Travelling Laboratory
The common potato Solanum tuberosum is one of the most important vegetables to survival within the bunker. This is due to their high protein and low fat content, as well as the fact that they provide excellent levels of thiamine, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and copper. Compounded by their relatively small horizontal cultivar area, this species provides high efficiency compared to space and energy input to growth.
However, as access to the surface increases, opportunities to supplement bunker-grown food needs to be acknowledged in order to address a range of issues that may impact upon bunker farming techniques, including low soil fertility, genetic mutations and or catastrophic losses brought about by lack of diversity in the genome and the increased caloric load from supplementing soldier rations from increasingly busy FEF campaigns.
41st Foot Division Scientist, Alexis Belyakova discovered the newly identified “rad-potato” Solanum belyakovii during a routine mission to engage with clan farmers on the surface. Upon bartering some of her luxury rations in order to secure samples of the plant, she has subsequently been cultivating the species in heavily controlled systems in order to investigate the properties and potential for this species to supplement bunker food capacity.
This short paper compares the growth cycles of S. tuberosum and S. belyakovii in order to inform any future growth plans and surface farming practices.
Sprouting
At this early stage in both S. tuberosum and S. belyakovii development, the eyes from the potato piece develop sprouts which emerge from the harvested tuber. These sprouts develop into the visible, above-ground photosynthesising portion stem and leaves of the potato plant. All growth at this stage is supported by the nutrients contained within the potato tuber and this stage can be undertaken with no growth medium in the case of both species of potato.
The temperature of the soil will affect how long this stage takes and in both Solanum species the process will not happen if the soil temperatures are too close to freezing.
Vegetative State
In the vegetative stage of both species growth cycle comprises the development and above and below ground growth of the photosynthesising plant, inclusive of the leaves, stem and root system but not tuber production.
During this stage, there has been established slight variations in the temperature and length of development between species. These are detailed below in table 1.
| Species | Favoured daily air Temperature | Sunlight hours | Average days growth to full plant maturity | Range of days growth to full plant maturity |
| S. tuberosum | 23 | 14-17 | 57 | 30-70 |
| S. belyakovii | 26 | 16-19 | 62 | 35-83 |
Tuber Initiation
The tubers form at the stolon tips of the potato plant, and remain at a small stage. These infant tubers are generally found 45 to 60 cm below the soil surface for both species.
At this stage of development, sufficient water is very important to healthy potato growth as nutrients are stored in these early tubers in preparation for the next stage of growth. This tuber initiation period will last for about 2 weeks and can be identified by the flowering of the main plant.
Tuber Bulking
Following the flowering process, both species enter a stage of tuber bulking where the cells expand and grow significantly.
In both species, there is a buildup of carbohydrates and complex nutrients in the tubers. However in S. belyakovii, the outer wall or ‘skin’ of the tuber appears to act as a ‘filter’ and there is a statistically significant build up of irradiated molecules in the skin of the tuber, when compared to the flesh. Further research into the differences between the cells of the tuber ‘skin’ and ‘flesh’ are ongoing and will be reported in a future paper.
Tuber bulking can take up to three months to complete and is enhanced at lower temperatures and fewer day-light hours.
Maturation
At plant maturation, photosynthesis begins to slow down and both species have exhibited the visible plant shedding their leaves. The tubers continue to bulk during this period, and the processes of the plant are diverted into this structure. At this stage, the ‘skin’ of the tuber toughens in both species. The maturation phase is highly variable and can make harvest of potatoes of both species incredibly difficult to balance.