In New Zealand, potato crop yields of 90 t ha −1 are achievable but at 55 t ha −1 , the average is becoming economically unsustainable. In 2012/13, a grower-initiated survey found that Rhizoctonia solani and Spongospora subterranea (soil-borne pathogens) and soil compaction were widespread in 11 Canterbury potato crops. Targeted areas in these crops had measured yield losses of 0 (healthy plants) – 42 (diseased, resource const...

Enhanced release of CO 2 to the atmosphere from soil organic carbon as a result of increased temperatures may lead to a positive feedback between climate change and the carbon cycle, resulting in much higher CO 2 levels and accelerated global warming. However, the magnitude of this effect is uncertain and critically dependent on how the decomposition of soil organic C (heterotrophic respiration) responds to changes in climate....