Acta Agrophysica (Oct 2018)
Yield of dry matter and starch of edible potato tubers in conditions of application of growth biostimulators and herbicide
Abstract
Field experiments were conducted in the years 2015-2017 in the region of eastern Poland, in the Biała Podlaska Commune (52°02`N, 23°07`E) in the Lublin Voivodeship. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of five methods of treatment involving application of growth biostimulators and herbicide on the yield of dry matter and starch of edible potato tubers. The experiments were performed in three replicates using the randomised split-block method. The examined factors included: factor I – three early cultivars of edible potato (Owacja, Bellarosa, Vineta), factor II – doses and dates of application of growth biostimulators: GreenOK-Universal Pro and Asahi SL as well as their combination with the Avatar 293 ZC herbicide. The highest yield of dry matter and starch of tubers was obtained from treatment 4 where, prior to sprouting, mechanical treatment was used, and after the final shaping of ridges and just before sprouting the Avatar 293 ZC herbicide at a dose of 1.5 dm 3 ha –1 , and then after sprouting the GreenOK Universal-PRO was applied three times at doses: 0.10 dm 3 ha –1 – peak-end of sprouting + 0.15 dm 3 ha –1 – covering of interrows + 0.15 dm 3 ha –1 – flower bud break (the mean yield of dry matter was at the level of 9.0 t ha –1 and that of starch at the level of 6.3 t ha –1 . However, the lowest yield of nutrients of potato tubers was obtained from the treatment where only mechanical treatment was used (treatment 1). Potato cultivars cultivated in the experiment and meteorological conditions also had a significant impact on the size of the yield of dry matter and starch of tubers. Growth biostimulators should find a wider application in agricultural practice as they are environment-friendly preparations and their use on agricultural crop plant fields gives notable production benefits.
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