Improving Potato Productivity through Optimum Agronomic Management to Ensure Food Security of Smallholder Farmers

Abstract

Potatoes are one of the most important vegetable crops which play an important role in improving household income and nutrition thereby contributing to food security in smallholder farmers. However, yield and productivity of the crop have been far below the world average. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to improve the productivity and quality of potato through proper planting depth and time of earthing up under supplemental irrigation using Jalane variety. The result revealed that days to flowering, days to physiological maturity, plant height, leaf number per plant, number of main stem per plant, unmarketable tuber number, marketable tuber yield, unmarketable tuber yield, total tuber yield, dry matter content, size category and specific gravity were significantly different due to the main effects of planting depth and time of earthing up. Interaction effect of planting depth and time of earthing up significantly affected the yield and quality of potato plants. The highest marketable and total tuber yield was recorded from the earthing up at 25 days after emergence using 12 cm depth of planting. The result may give firsthand information for potato producers to maximize their productivity. The production of potato is improved through the combination of 12 cm planting depth and earthing up at 25 days after emergence.