Managing soil health and crop productivity in potato: a challenging test system

Maintaining the health, and therefore productivity, of agricultural soils is vital for continued sustainable agricultural production to support the world’s growing population. Potatoes are grown in a variety of agro-ecological systems and are one of the most important food crops worldwide. Potato crops are demanding on the soil with significant heavy machinery traffic, intensive tillage operations and high inputs of fertiliser, pesticides and water. Maintaining or improving soil health can therefore be challenging for growers. This review considers the different aspects of soil health in a potato production context, how to measure them and how they can be influenced by management practices. Soil health is a complex concept encompassing the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and their role in ecosystem services and the growth of plants. Although our understanding of soil health and its impact on crop productivity has improved in the last 30 years, many knowledge gaps remain.