Data on the sensory evaluation of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) from different areas of Hokkaido, Japan, performed by untrained young adults
This data article describes a sensory evaluation of potatoes used in food processing from the Tokachi, Kamikawa, and Abashiri geographic areas of Hokkaido, Japan, performed by untrained young adults. We gathered sensory data on potatoes from the four cultivars ‘Toyoshiro,’ ‘Kitahime,’ ‘Snowden,’ and ‘Poroshiri.’ The sensory evaluation was performed on steamed potatoes from each cultivar; these potatoes were harvested from each of the three geographic areas. Table 1 provides the data from the evaluation of the five basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami), as well as the evaluation of the egumi taste, which is a Japanese term indicating a taste that is acrid, astringent, and slightly bitter.
Actual and Potential Yield Levels of Potato in Different Production Systems of Japan
Japan annually produces 2.4 million tons of potato on 79,700 ha. There are four cropping seasons stretching from 24° to 45° N: a winter crop at Okinawa, spring and autumn crops at Kyushu and southern Honshu, and a single summer crop at Hokkaido. Using the crop growth model LINTUL-POTATO-DSS, actual yields were compared with potential yields. The spring and summer crop yields of all prefectures varied from 10 to 43 t ha−1 and were 16 t ha−1 on average (not weighted by area); the actual/potential yield ratio varied between 0.21 and 0.63 and was 0.40 on average (not weighted). Actual and potential yields of the autumn crops were half those of the spring crops. Actual yields of the Hokkaido summer crops in 21 years decreased from 35 to 32 t ha−1 because of a change of varieties whereas potential yield remained stable at 56 t ha−1. Increased temperature would reduce the potential yield to 53 t ha−1 but would move it up to 60 t ha−1 by lengthening the growing season and to 77 t ha−1 when the CO2 effect on growth is taken into account. The actual/potential yield ratio at Hokkaido was benchmarked against that of other growing regions in the world, showing that this area compares well with that of other efficient production systems in northern Europe and America.
Climate Change and Potato Production in Contrasting South African Agro-ecosystems
Explorations of the impact of climate change on potential potato yields were obtained by downscaling the projections of six different coupled climate models to high spatial resolution over southern Africa. The simulations of daily maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, wind speed, and solar radiation were used as input to run the crop growth model LINTUL-Potato. Pixels representative for potato growing areas were selected for four globally occurring agro-ecosystems: rainy and dry winter and summer crops. The simulated inter-annual variability is much greater for rainfall than for temperature. Reference evapotranspiration and radiation are projected to hardly decline over the 90-year period, whilst temperatures are projected to rise significantly by about 1.9 °C. From literature, it was found that radiation use efficiency of potato increased with elevated CO2 concentrations by almost 0.002 gMJ−1ppm−1. This ratio was used to calculate the CO2 effect on yields between 1960 and 2050, when CO2 concentration increases from 315 to 550 ppm.