Potato and Tuber Crops

Manures and Fertilizers

• Potato is a heavy feeder and plants respond well to application of manures and fertilizers.
• Fertilizer requirement varies with soil and previous crop raised.
• The requirements of major nutrients depending on soil are given below

Soil Type	N (Kg/ha)	P (Kg/ha)	K (Kg/ha)
Alluvial	180	80	110
Black Red	115	45	50
Red	120	115	135
Hill Soils	115	135	95

• Half of N, full P and K are to be applied as basal dose before planting tubers.
• Remaining N is applied at the time of earthing up. Nitrogen is a limiting factor in all types of soils and it is required for growth of roots, foliage and tuber.
• Calcium ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate are better sources of N than urea.
• Phosphorus increases number of medium sized tubers while potassium enhances size of individual tubers.
• Potassium sulphate is better than Murate of potash. Application of farmyard manures @ 30 t/ha meets the entire requirement of phosphorus and potassium and micro-nutrients for potato and succeeding cereal crop.
• Soils poor in organic matter content should be supplied with 250 to 500 q/ha of farmyard manure or compost during land preparation, preferably a fortnight before planting. Potato plant is a heavy feeder.
• When it is grown in medium type of soils, it needs 100 to 150 kg nitrogen, 80 to 100 kg phosphorous and 80 to 100 kg potassium per hectare.
• Two - third to three fourth quantity of nitrogen along with whole quantity of phosphorus and potassium is applied at the time of planting.
• Remaining one fourth to one third nitrogen is applied 30 to 35 days after planting i.e. at the time of first earthing up or when plants become 25 to 30 cm in height either in the form of top dressing or as a foliar feeding.
• Spraying of essential micronutrients such as boron, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum etc. is done when crop is showing deficiency symptoms.