EFFECT OF FOLIAR SPRAY OF SOME NUTRIENTS ON QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF POTATOES  Solanum tuberosum L.

H. M. Al-Dhubabi, M.; H. Al-Sahaf, F.

	EFFECT OF FOLIAR SPRAY OF SOME NUTRIENTS ON QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF POTATOES Solanum tuberosum L.
IRAQ JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE
Article 1, Volume 15, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 0-0
Authors
M. H. M. Al-Dhubabi; F. H. Al-Sahaf
Abstract
The aim of this study was to improve the nutritional status of potato plants and to provide nutrients through foliar application in various stages of growth in order to achieve appropriate nutritional balance as a mean to increase yield of potato plants and improve its quality. Using "Desiree" variety of potato, the field experiment was carried out in two spring seasons of the years 2001 and 2002 in a private fields with sandy clay silt soil located south of the Al-Mada'in city (35 km south of Baghdad). The experiment was designed using indiscriminate full design sectors of Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Thirty treatments of different combinations of K, Ca, Mg, Zn and B were distributed randomly in three replications. The foliar spry of the different treatments was applied in three different stages of plants' growth, the first application was applied 45 days after emergence of vegetative growth on the soil surface, the second one was 15 days after the first application while the third one was 15 days after the second application. Observations on quantitative and qualitative characters of tuber yield were taken after tuber dry curing. Results showed efficient foliar applications of K and B in increasing average of tuber weight, which reflected an increase in a total yield subsequently increase in marketable yield with the involvement of other elements within other combinations that commensurate with the nutritional status of the plants. The foliar application of fertilizer, particularly the two combinations of K+Ca+B and K+Mg+Zn+B in three stages of growth led to improved tubers' quality characteristics increasing their economic value. In addition, the possible effect of foliar application on qualitative density of tubers, the K application cause reduction in qualitative density of tubers, whereas, application of other balanced nutrient combinations may increase the qualitative density of tubers.

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