Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilisers on Growth, Yield, Nutritional Content, Quality and Shelf-Life of Irish Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.)

摘要

Organic and inorganic fertilisers can be used as nutrient sources which can enhance potato growth,yield, nutritional content and shelf-life. Combinations of chemical fertiliser NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] with [3:0:5 (48.5)]as the control, cattle manure, goat manure, cattle manure combined with NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)], goat manurecombined with NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)], goat manure combined with NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] andNPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] appliedas topdressing, cattle manure combined with NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] and NPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] applied as topdressingand NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] applied alone were used in this study. Goat and cattle manure were both applied at 40t/ha, basal fertiliser NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] at 900 kg/ha and NPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] applied as topdressing at 350 kg/haand their interactions with plant growth, yield and nutritional quality were evaluated during a field experimentin 2018 with the use of a split-plot design with the 2x8 factorial arrangement of three replications in Eswatini.Shoot emergence occurred 20 days after planting. Plant height and number of branches increased linearly andsignificantly in response to manure and fertiliser application, where cattle manure combined with NPK [4:3:5(36.5)] and NPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] providing the highest plant height of 59.3 cm in Mondial cultivar. Mondial cultivarshowed higher vegetative growth, yield and quality parameters when compared to BP1. Yield was significantlyincreased in response to manure and fertiliser application. Application of cattle manure combined with NPK[4:3:5 (36.5)] and NPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] gave the highest marketable yield of 14.4 t/ha in Mondial cultivar with goatmanure showing the lowest yield (5.3 t/ha) in Mondial cultivar. The application of cattle manure combined withNPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] and NPK [3:0:5 (48.5)] induced the highest tuber dry matter content of 22.6% in BP1 cultivar.Application of fertiliser had no significant effect on nutritional content of tubers. However, increased levels offertiliser applied increased the protein content in potato tubers. From the results of this study, it can beconcluded that Eswatini farmers may supply cattle manure combined with NPK [4:3:5 (36.5)] and NPK [3:0:5(48.5)] as a topdressing for high yield and quality of potatoes and also cultivar Mondial is recommended forproduction due to its higher yields and quality.