Calcium and Potassium Fertilization May Enhance Potato Tuber Yield and Quality Nesreen Ahmed Sabry Helal and Slama A. AbdElhady
Field experiment was carried out in a private farm in Delta Nile region, Menofia Governorate, Egypt, during 2013 and 2014 seasons, in order to investigate the effect of calcium and potassium application on vegetative growth, and yield quality of Potato (Solanum tuberosum. L) cv. Spounta. The calcium nitrate was used at rates of 0, 10, 20 kg as net calcium per feddan. The potassium nutrient was added in the form of potassium sulfate (K2SO4) at rate of 0, 25, 50, 75 kg as net potassium per feddan Data collected were stem length, number of branches, Plant dry weight, chlorophyll content, and tuber yield. Average tuber weight, tuber specific gravity, percent of infected tubers with internal brown spots and plant chemical content were also determined. Results indicated that, the level of 50 and 75 net K kg per feddan improved plant growth and chemical content significantly of potato in both seasons. The same results were obtained with 10, 20 net Ca kg per feddan. Concerning, the effect of interaction between calcium and potassium treatment, the results revealed that 20 net calcium kg/faddan with 75 net potassium kg /feddan were the best treatment for vegetative growth and yield of potato plants. It was concluded that calcium and potassium fertilization may enhance potato tuber yield and quality.