Performance of potato cultivars as a function of foliar application of potassium sulfate

Abstract

The application of potassium fertilizers is an essential practice to obtain a high yield, especially in vegetables such as potatoes. The potato has high efficiency in the absorption and accumulation of nutrients. Thus, the objective was to evaluate, under the conditions of the Cristalina—Goiás, Brazil, the influence of time of foliar application of potassium sulfate in potato development. The experiments were carried out from March to June 2017, using Agata and Atlantic potato cultivars; and from June to October 2017, using Atlantic potato cultivar. The statistical method used was the randomized complete block design, with six treatments (without application; at 42; at 56; at 42 and 56; at 56 and 70; at 42, 56, and 70 days after planting) and four repetitions. At 75 days after planting the leaves of experimental plots were sampled to quantify the macro and micronutrients content. At the end of the experiments, tuber yield and qualitative characteristics were evaluated. The Atlantic cultivar showed a greater accumulation of nutrients than the Agata cultivar, in the March to June cultivation. The best productive performances of special class are related to application at 42, 56, and 70 days after planting in the cultivar Agata, at 56 and 70 DAP in the cultivar Atlantic (cultivation from June to October), and at 42 and 56 days after planting in Atlantic (cultivation from March to June). The treatments that stood out in the special class also reflect greater soluble solids in relation to the control for the cultivar Atlantic.

Keywords:

• Fertilization
• Agata
• Atlantic
• plant nutrition
• Solanum tuberosum L

Acknowledgments

We thank the Tessenderlo Group NV/SA, for donating K-leaf® fertilizer; to the Wehrmann company, for the availability of the area for conducting the experiment and for technicians to assist in this conduct.

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient_ıfico e Tecnol_ogico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG).