Potato (<i>Solanum tuberosum</i> L.) yield and quality as influenced by cultivar and nitrogen fertilizer levels at Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

Abstract

Despite the food and nutritional contribution of potatoes, their production and productivity are faced with major  constraints such as selection of an appropriate cultivar and fertilizer rates. A field experiment was conducted at Wolaita  Soddo, in Southern Ethiopia, to identify adaptable cultivars and optimum levels of nitrogen fertilizer for potato  production. The treatments consisted of three cultivars (Bellete, Gudene, and one local check) and four levels of  nitrogen (N) (0, 55.5, 111, and 166.5 kg N ha^-1 ) to give a total of 12 treatments arranged in factorial combinations and  laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Data was collected on growth, yield, and yield  components. Results revealed that days to 50% flowering and maturity, number of marketable tubers, unmarketable  tubers, marketable tuber yield, and total tuber yield were significantly influenced by the interaction effect. As the level of  N increased from 0 to 166.5 kg ha^-1, the days to physiological maturity were extended. The maximum marketable  yield (34.15 t ha-1 ) was recorded from cultivar Bellete with 166.5 kg N ha^-1, ^whereas the least (7.48 t ha^-1 ) was obtained  from local check with 0 kg N ha^-1, indicating a 356.55% yield advantage with proper cultivar and fertilizer  combination. In the tuber quality parameters, Bellete had the highest dry matter (23.28%) and specific gravity (1.094 g  cm^-1), ^whereas the lowest (17.65% and 1.070 g cm^-1) were recorded from local. Partial budget analysis also confirmed  that the Bellete cultivar with 166.5 kg N ha^-1 had the highest MRR (1850), which was the most economically feasible  regarding potato yield and quality. Thus, the cultivar Bellete with 166.5 kg N ha^-1 can be used for potato production in  the study area.