For her Bachelor’s thesis Henriette Elisabeth Quehl received the development award of the Förderungsgemeinschaft der Kartoffelwirtschaft e.V., association for the promotion of the potato industry in Germany. Her thesis is titled “Influence of Potassium and Drought Stress on Leaf Gas Exchange, Assimilate Formation and the Content of Chlorophyll and Free Amino Acids in Solanum tuberosum L.”. The thesis was written as a cooperative project between the Division of Quality of Plant Products and IAPN. Both of them are institutions of the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Göttingen.
The focal point: the influence of potassium and drought stress on potato plants
Henriette Quehl conducts research in the exterior greenhouse facility of the Division of Quality of Plant Products and IAPN. Among other issues, she researches the influence of potassium and drought stress on leaf gas exchange in potato plants. (Photo: IAPN)
For her experimental research project Henriette Quehl cultivated potato plants in a hydroponic system, in which the plants’ roots are immersed in a nutrient solution. Henriette Quehl provided the plants with various potassium concentrations, and subjected parts of the cultivations to drought dress. Measuring the leaf gas exchange provided information on the photosynthesis performance and the transpiration rate of the differently treated potato plants. These measurements were complemented by analyses of the concentrations of the leaf pigment chlorophyll, free amino acids and sugars glucose and fructose.
Encouragement award for “Integration of potatoes in topical research”
“We consider the work done by Ms. Quehl an excellent example for the integration of potatoes in topical research”, is how Helge Johannes explains the awarding decision. He is chairman of the Förderungsgemeinschaft der Kartoffelwirtschaft e.V. One of the most relevant issues in today’s crop production is drought stress. The award is endowed with 250 euro and also includes publication of the research results in the agricultural magazine Kartoffelbau, presumably in the second half of the year 2019.
The thesis was supervised by Dr. Marcel Naumann from the Division of Quality of Plant Products and by Junior Professor Dr. Merle Tränkner from IAPN acting as co-supervisor. Assistance in plant cultivation and lab analyses was provided by the staff of both divisions.
The IAPN team congratulates Henriette Elisabeth Quehl on this great success!
