Dataset for: Health quality of seed potato and yield losses in Ecuador

A survey and a field experiment were performed in Ecuador to: (1) determine the incidence and severity of foliage pests on farmer fields and seed borne pests on potato tuber seeds, (2) understand how altitude and seed sources affect seed health quality, and (3) identify the influence of the seed health quality on yield. In 2010, the survey was performed in 11 farmer fields located at an altitude between 2751 and 3634 meters above the sea level (m.a.s.l) in the provinces of Bolivar, Chimborazo and Tungurahua. The survey consisted on two parts, in the first part: 100 plants per field were randomly selected to identify visually foliage pests (data in the "Foliage_pest_evaluation" sheet), and in the second part: around 400 tuber seeds per field (in the "dictionary" sheet denominated mother seeds to differentiate from the tubers of the progeny denominated daughter tubers) were sampled to identify seed borne pests (data in the "Losses_yield_determination" sheet). These tuber seeds were later planted (mid October 2010- late December 2011) in the field experiment at CIP-Quito (altitude of 3058 m.a.s.l). Growth variables, yield and production quality were registered per tuber at harvest (data in the "Losses_yield_determination" sheet). The general characteristics of farmer fields surveyed (e.g., geographic information, farmer's seed sources, potato varieties and field sizes) are described in the "Fields_Geographic_locations" sheet. Weather data during the field experiment time (rainfall (mm), temperature (°C), and relative humidity (%)) was kindly provided by the Ecuadorian National Institute of Meteorology and Hidrology (acronym in Spanish "INAMHI"; data in "Weather_data_field experiment" and "Weather_summary_table").