Effects of Time of Earthing Up on Yield and Yield Parameters of Irish Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) in Zaka District, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) is a strategic national food security crop in that can be used as a supplement for carbohydrates. It is the fastest growing staple food crop and source of income for poor smallholder farmers. There is limited documentation on effects of earthing up irish potatoes on yield and yield components in Zimbabwe. A field experiment was conducted in Zaka district of Masvingo province in Zimbabwe during the 2018/19 cropping season. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of time of earthing up on yield and yield parameters of BP1 potato variety. The treatments consisted of four levels of time of earthing up (no earthing up (control), three, four and five weeks after plant emergence), replicated three times on a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Results on earthing-up at three weeks recorded significantly (P<0.013) the highest total tuber yield (21.97 t ha-1) which is 10% higher compared to no earthing up which recorded 14.43 t ha-1. Moreover, earthing up at two weeks had the least number of greening tuber yield (3%), 11% pest damaged tuber yield, 6% unmarketable tuber yield and 45% marketable tuber yield. This is in contrast with no earthing up which recorded 91% greening tuber yield, 25.3% on pest damaged tubers, 59% on unmarketable tubers and 10% marketable tuber yield. Based on the results, first earthing up should be done at three weeks after complete plant emergence at the study area under rain fed conditions for the production of potatoes with improved yield and better tuber quality.

Assessing the potential of earthing up and integrated nutrient management on Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) productivity in smallholder farming systems

“…Ethiopia who reported increased tuber yields with the use of cattle manure and mineral fertiliser on potatoes. Results from this project were in support of results bySakadzo et al (2020) who reported increased tuber yields with the use of earthing up potatoes in Zimbabwe (Zaka district). Results from this experiment corroborate with report by Masvodza…”

“…Lack of knowledge about earthing up of potatoes (Sakadzo et al, 2020) and inadequate use of mineral and organic fertiliser has contributed to low potato yields in smallholder farming systems (Masvodza, 2015). There is need for proper dissemination information about these technologies to smallholder farmers as means of improving potato tuber yields.…”

“…Combining cattle manure and inorganic fertiliser increases nutrient availability which promotes plant growth rates leading to increased plant height (Kumar et al, 2012). Earthing up also increased soil depth which allows plants to spread their roots freely and go deep absorbing more nutrients and take up more water as earthing up conserves moisture and reduces leaching of nutrients especially where cattle manure is applied (Sakadzo et al, 2020).…”

“…Potato (Solanum tuberosum. L), is an edible plant which belongs to family Solanaceae and originated from South America where it was first grown in Peru (Quin, 2011;Sakadzo et al, 2020). Potatoes are used as food by many people world-wide because of its high carbohydrate content and edibility (Muhammad et al, 2013;Svubure et al, 2015).…”

Effects of Earthing up and Pruning Systems on Post-Harvest Quality of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon)

“…[18] and [28] observed that earthing up of potato crop during the active plant growth period improved the soil condition which enabled proper root growth. They indicated that proper root growth enhanced efficient nutrient absorption which facilitated better growth and development consequently increasing fruit quality which can stay long in the post-harvest period.…”