EFFECT OF ORGANIC AND MINERAL FERTILIZATION ON POTATO GROWTH AND YIELD

Abstract

Many potato farmers in the Beqaa plain use excessive quantities of mineral and organic fertilizers to grow their crops trusting that the more they add fertilizers the more they increase their yield. This practice contributed to the pollution of ground and surface water including the Litany River and its tributaries and waterways (Darwich et al., 2018), increase the cost of production and reduce the sustainability of the cropping system. Studying the effects of different combinations of organic and mineral fertilizers on growth and yield of potato could help in establishing sustainable practices for potato production. This includes recommendations for alternative practices, better selecting fertilizers types, and accurately estimating the rate of application of fertilizers. A field study was carried on in spring of 2021 in the Advancing Research Enabling Communities Center (AREC) in the Beqaa plain Northeast of Lebanon to evaluate the effects of different organic and mineral fertilizers combinations on the growth (emergence, plant height, shoot biomass) and yield (total, marketable and non-marketable yield) of potato. A Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with seven different treatments and four replicates was used. Our results showed no significant differences neither in growth nor in potato yield among the different treatments including the control. Nevertheless, high potato yields were obtained from all the treatments including the control, ranging from 55 to 69 tonnes of potato per hectare. This yield exceeded by far the average yield produced by conventional local potato farmers in the Beqaa plain.