Potato Seed Rate & Seed Tubers per Acre
Plants seed potato
Enter field area, row and plant spacing and the seed-tuber weight to get the seed tubers in tonnes, the total seed in kg and the plant population per acre.
Enter your plot
Next: use ~1.35 t of well-sprouted, disease-free seed (cut large tubers with ≥2 eyes and treat them); wider spacing or smaller tubers cut seed cost.
Seed is ~40–50% of potato cost; certified seed and correct tuber size matter more than exact rate.
Potato seed rate — key facts
- Plants
- area ÷ (row × plant spacing)
- Seed rate
- plants × seed-tuber weight
- Seed cost
- ≈ 40–50% of crop cost
- Seed quality
- certified, sprouted, disease-free
- Cutting tubers
- ≥ 2 eyes per piece, treat
- Typical rows
- 60–75 cm apart
- In-row plants
- 20–30 cm apart
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Get the seed order right — it's half the cost
Potatoes are planted from tubers, not light packets of seed, so the seed bill is heavy in every sense — roughly 40–50% of what it costs to grow the crop. The quantity comes from two things: how many plants you want, set by your row and plant spacing, and how much each seed tuber weighs. Multiply the population by the tuber weight and you have the tonnes of seed to buy.
This tool returns the seed tubers in tonnes, the total seed in kg, the plant population, plants per acre and seed per hectare from your spacing and tuber weight. Use certified, well-sprouted, disease-free seed, cut large tubers to pieces with at least two eyes and treat them, and add a small margin for waste. Pair it with the Seed Rate, Plant Spacing and Crop Yield tools to plan the whole crop.
Order seed accurately
Tonnes and kg of seed straight from your spacing.
Control the seed bill
Seed is ~half the cost — size it right.
Set the population
See plants and plants per acre at a glance.
Plan certified seed
Quantify disease-free seed to buy this season.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the potato seed rate?+
The seed rate is the quantity of seed tubers needed to plant a field, usually given in tonnes or kg per acre or hectare. It depends on your spacing — which sets the plant population — and the average weight of each seed tuber. More plants and bigger seed pieces both raise the rate.
How is potato seed rate calculated?+
First find the plant population: plants = area ÷ (row spacing × plant spacing). Then multiply by the average seed-tuber weight to get the total seed: seed rate = plants × seed-tuber weight. This tool does both and converts the result to seed tubers in tonnes, total kg, and seed per acre and hectare.
How much seed potato do I need per acre?+
It varies widely with spacing and tuber size, but typically a couple of tonnes of seed per acre. Closer spacing and larger seed pieces push it higher; wider spacing and small whole tubers lower it. Enter your own spacing and tuber weight for a figure that fits your crop and variety.
Why is seed such a big cost in potatoes?+
Seed tubers are heavy and bulky, and certified disease-free seed is expensive, so seed alone is roughly 40–50% of the total cost of growing potatoes. That makes the seed rate one of the most important numbers to get right — over-ordering wastes money, under-ordering leaves gaps and lost yield.
Should I use certified seed?+
Yes. Certified seed is inspected and graded to be free of the viruses and diseases that build up in farm-saved tubers and silently cut yield year after year. Using certified, well-sprouted, disease-free seed is one of the most reliable ways to protect a potato crop and justify the seed cost.
Can I cut large seed tubers?+
Large tubers can be cut into pieces, but each piece must carry at least two eyes (buds) so it can sprout and establish. Cut a day or two before planting, let the surfaces heal or treat them, and handle gently — cutting stretches seed further but raises the risk of rot if done carelessly.
What spacing should I use?+
Spacing depends on variety, soil and whether you grow for seed, ware or processing, but rows are commonly 60–75 cm apart with plants set 20–30 cm in the row. Closer spacing gives more, smaller tubers; wider spacing gives fewer, larger ones. Enter your target spacing to size the seed order.
Does seed-tuber size change the rate?+
Strongly. Heavier seed pieces mean more kg of seed for the same number of plants, so the seed rate climbs with tuber weight even when spacing is unchanged. Grading seed to a consistent size makes planting more uniform and lets you order seed accurately.
Are these figures exact?+
They are solid planning figures. Real seed needs vary with field shape, headlands, grading losses, cut-piece size and planting accuracy. Add a small margin for waste and gap-filling, use your own measured spacing and tuber weight, and treat the result as a confident order guide rather than an exact count.