Abstract
<jats:p>The objective of the study is to determine the effect of pre-planting treatment of seed tubers and foliar application of a solution of the Growth Matrix preparation on the growth, development, and productivity of potato varieties of different maturity groups under field conditions. The study was conducted in experimental fields at the Samara Research Institute of Agriculture, a branch of the Samara Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, from 2021 to 2024. The subjects of the study were the early-ripening potato variety Gala, the early-ripening variety Koroleva Anna, the mid-early variety Ilyinsky, and the mid-ripening variety Kometa. Potatoes were planted using a clonal planter in the second ten-day period of May. Four replicates of 50 plants were used. The experimental variants included pre-planting tuber treatment, one or two treatments of potato plants with the same dosage of the preparation during the growing season, and treatment of plants with different doses of the growth regulator during the budding stage. Statistical processing of yield data was performed using analysis of variance. Application of Growth Matrix at a dose of 0.6 l/ha during the growing season significantly increased the yield of Gala potatoes by 5.7 and 8.3 t/ha after a single and double application, respectively. The increase in potato productivity in these treatments was achieved primarily due to increased tuber weight. Foliar application of Growth Matrix at a dose of 0.4 l/ha significantly increased the yield of the mid-season Kometa variety and the mid-early Ilyinsky variety by 6.9 and 5.4 t/ha, respectively, as well as the average yield for the varieties. A significant increase in yield was also observed with a dose of 0.5 l/ha. Moreover, the increase in yield in treatments with different doses was achieved by increasing the number of tubers per plant. The Growth Matrix can positively impact various components of potato yield depending on cultivation conditions, variety, number and dosage of treatments. Foliar application of Growth Matrix can be recommended for mid-early and mid-season potato varieties grown under moisture-deficient and high-temperature conditions, at rates of 0.4 and 0.5 l/ha.</jats:p>