Studies on effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Growth and Yield of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)is herbaceous annual plant belonging to the family Solanaceae with its edible part a modified underground stem known as tuber. Potato is one of the important crops of the world and is consumed by over million people across the global mainly as a leading vegetable. It ranks fourth in terms of volume production after maize, rice and wheat. According to Aykroid (1941) potato tuber contains 74.7% water, 22.9% carbohydrates, 1.6% protein, 0.1% fat and 0.6% minerals and every 100 g of boiled edible portion provides 69 calories energy (Singh et al.2007). In India the potato production during the year 2015-16 was estimated to be around 48.0 lakh MTfrom the area of 20.85 lakh ha in the country as per the 1st estimate of Govt. of India. Potato demands high level of soil nutrients due to relative poorly developed and shallow root system. Compared with cereal crops, potato produces much more dry matter in a shorter cycle. This high rate of dry matter production results in higher amount of nutrients removed per unit time from per unit area, which generally most of the soils are notable to supply. Hence, nutrient application from external sources as fertilizers becomes essential. High yields can only be sustained through the application of optimal NPK dose in balanced proportion. Potato being a heavy feeder of nutrients requires high amount of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers are the source of nutrients in potato crop. However, continuous dependence on chemical fertilizer causes imbalance and harmful effects on physio-chemical and biological properties of soil as well as on human health. Considering the higher cost of fertilizers and their harmful effects on soil, environment as well as on the quality of potato it is necessary to find out an alternative which besides improving the productivity and quality of potato should also be eco-friendly to the environment. The beneficial impact of organic manures like Farmyard manure (FYM), vermicompost and other composts on improving soil properties, its fertility and productivity is well known. Farmyard management (FYM) is an approach of supplying nutrition or food to the crop by including organic and inorganic source of nutrients. Bio-fertilizer are also important members of organic sources in INM system and plays a major role in supplementing the crop nutrients through biological nitrogen fixation and solubilization of bound forms of phosphorous in soil. Potato requires specific climatic condition for its better growth and quality. The high rate of dry matter production results in larger amounts of nutrients removed per unit time, when generally soils are notable to supply. Hence nutrient application from external sources fertilizers becomes crucial for achieving high yields. The potato is a major staple fulfilling human nutritional requirements. Worldwide, the potato comes forth in terms of production after wheat, maize and rice. In many countries potato serves as their staple food because of its excellent nutritional content. This judicious use of chemical fertilizer with other sources of organic matter enhances crop growth, yield and soil health as well as declined environment pollution.