The straw as mulch and compost as a tool for mitigation of drought impacts in the potatoes cultivation

Abstract

The frequent occurrence of years with extreme drought leads to the investigation of measures for mitigation of their impacts. The efficiency of organic mulch materials – straw and compost application as the preservation of potato production in drought conditions were verified in this study. Three mulching treatments were verified during the three experimental years (2016–2018) in an exact field trial with potatoes cv. Dicolora. Wheat straw mulch in the rate of 2.5 t/ha (SM1) and 4.5 t/ha (SM2), compost in the rate of 20 t/ha (CM), and control block without any treatments (C) were used. The yield of marketable tubers (tuber over 40 mm) showed a significant increase by 21.2% at the straw mulch treatment (SM2) in comparison with control. As for the straw mulch (SM1) and compost mulch (CM), tubers yields increased by 12.8% and 10.1%, respectively, compared to control.