RESPONSE OF POTATO TO NITROGEN EFFICIENCY BIOAVAILABILITY (NEB) IN COMBINATION WITH CHEMICAL FERTILIZER

Abstract

Production of quality potato is the main bottleneck in Bangladesh, due to its suboptimal management strategies aside of inorganic environment. From this perspective

a field experiment was carried out at the research field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural

University, Dhaka, Bangladesh during November, 2015 to April, 2016 to find out the

response of NEB (Nitrogen Efficiency Bio-availability), an organic root exudates and

chemical

fertilizer on growth, yield and quality of potato (cv. Diamant). The experiment consisted of seven different doses of NEB viz., T = 50% recommended urea + 500 mL NEB ha -1 ; T 2 ii 1 = 50% recommended urea + 750 mL NEB ha = 50% recommended urea + 1000 mL NEB ha -1 ; T = 50% recommended urea and 25% reduction of P, K, S + 500 mL NEB ha -1 ; T 4 = 50% recommended urea and 25% reduction of P, K, S + 750 mL NEB ha -1 ; T 5 = 50% recommended urea and 25% reduction of P, K, S + 1000 mL NEB ha -1 and T 6 = 100% recommended fertilizer. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Results demonstrated that NEB in combination with chemical fertilizers had significant effect on most of the growth, yield and quality contributing parameters studied in this experiment. Among the seven treatments, the combination of NEB at the rate of 750 mL ha -1 7 and 50% recommended urea along with other fertilizers at conventional rate showed better performance on yield, marketable yield, specific gravity, dry matter percentage and starch content of tuber compared to those of other treatments. On the other hand; TSS (Total Soluble Solid), non-marketable yield, firmness and reducing sugar showed the best performance when the crop was managed by T (100% recommended fertilizers). The maximum yield of tubers was found from T 7 2 (36.00 t ha -1 ) i.e., 45.48% increase yield over 100% recommended chemical fertilizer which was statistically similar to T 1 (34.65 t ha -1 -1 ) and T (33.52 t ha -1 ) treatments. Although, the T 1 (50% recommended urea + 500 mL NEB ha ) treatment showed the statistically similar result in case of tuber yield as T but in case of processing parameters T exhibited the best one for specific gravity (1.108), dry matter (23.27 %) and starch content (23.62 mg g 2 -1 FW) of tuber at harvest and at 40 days after storage (DAS) whereas, T performed the worst one. From this study, it may be concluded that NEB had significant positive response for the increasing of 7 potato yield and improving the processing quality of potato also when applied at the rate of 50% Urea and 750 ml of NEB per hectare. Finally, NEB may put remarkable contribution for reducing the application of chemical fertilizers.