IRRIGATION RESPONSE OF POTATO (Solanum tuberosum L.) VAR. R12 DIACOL CAPIRO

Abstract

Irrigation is one of the agronomic practices seldom employed by potato growers, either because of water unavailability or lack of knowledge of the benefits of the appropriate water use. In order to demonstrate this benefit, in a cycle of five months, regarding of a commercial crop located in Tenjo (Cundinamarca), we evaluate the response of the potato variety Diacol Capiro R-12 to three treatments, fertigation (T1), drip irrigation (T2), and the comparison with a conventional check without irrigation (T3), distributed under a completely randomized design. The influence of the treatments on the fresh and dry weight of leaves, stems and tubers was estimated. Throughout the assessment, the irrigation and fertigation treatments were superior to conventional one, showing statistically significant differences at harvest time, where treatment T1 showed an increase in yield of 72% and treatment T2 of 18%, compared with the control. Based on the results, fertigation can be considered as an option for farmers to increase their potato profitability and market competitiveness, since the impact generated by price fluctuations of the product can be reduced, obtaining higher and more constant yield per area unit, regardless of weather conditions during the crop cycle.

Keywords

• Sistemas de riego
• producción tubérculos
• rendimiento
• lluvias