Potato (Solatium tuberosum) Mini Tuber Production in Hydroponic System as Affected by Different Fertilizer Mixtures

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) planting materials (seed potato) are produced using hydroponics techniques. Two locally prepared fertilizer mixtures and commercially available Albert's solution were used to produce mini tubers of potato variety Granola. The experiment was of a Completely Randomized Design with four treatments and three replicates. Plant height, number of leaves, number of stolons and maximum stolon length were measured at weekly intervals as vegetative growth parameters. Total number of harvested mini tubers and total tuber weight per plant were measured as yield parameters four weeks after planting. Number of leaves per plant, number of stolons per plant, maximum stolon length, and total tuber fresh weight per plant were not significantly influenced by different nutrient solutions used. Plants grown in Albert's solution produced significantly higher number of mini tubers compared to other nutrient solutions, at fourth week after planting. Thus, the study indicated that Albert's solution is the most efficient fertilizer for mini tuber production in a poly-tunnel based hydroponic system for the potato variety Granola, compared to other fertilizer mixtures used.