INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON THE GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF POTATO IN INDO-GANGETIC PLAINS OF WEST BENGAL

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at farmer’s field in Nadia district, West Bengal to study the effect of combined application of organic material and inorganic fertilizers on tuber yield, quality and incidence of late blight disease on the crop. Combined application of neem seed powder @1.2 t ha-1, karanj cake @ 1.0 t ha-1, farmyard manure @ 6 t ha-1, commercial formulation Biomax @ 0.6 t ha-1 and Biomas @1.5 t ha-1 along with 75 % of recommended dose of NPK fertilizers (RDF) increased the tuber yield by 5.87 % to 10.56 % over the control (100 % RDF). The Biomax proved to be most effective in increasing the tuber yield (10.56 %) and percentage of ‘A’ (> 75g) grade tubers (47.21%). Application of organics improved specific gravity, total soluble solids and ascorbic acid content of tubers. Organic sources were also effective in decreasing the disease incidence in potato crop.