A case study of shelterbelt effect on potato (Solanum tuberosum) yield on the Atherton Tablelands in tropical north Australia

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted on the Atherton Tablelands of tropical north Australia to quantify the shelterbelt benefit to the production of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Wind speed, wind direction and potato yield were measured at various distances from the leeward side of the shelterbelt. Non-linear modelling was used to describe the relationship between potato yield and distance from the shelterbelt. With the developed model, definite integral was used to calculate the net increase percentage of potato yield. Wind speed was greatly reduced by the shelterbelt. Potato yield was increased by 6.7% due to the shelterbelt. It appears that fitting non-linear models is a useful method to determine an accurate net increase of crops from shelterbelts, providing an accurate assessment of the average crop yield on the open areas is achieved. © 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers.