Evaluation of Growth, Yield and Quality of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Varieties at Bule, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

This experiment was aimed to evaluate the performance of potato varieties in respect to growth, yield and quality attributes. A field experiment was carried out in Bule, Southern Ethiopia during the summer of 2017 under rain fed condition. The experiment was a single factor and arranged with randomized complete block design with 3 replicates. Treatments included different potato varieties (Bule, Gudenie, Jalenie, Belete, Degemegni and Local variety "Key Dench"). The results showed statistically significant variations in almost all of the parameters. The highest total yield (36.533 t ha-1) and marketable tuber yield (33.985 t ha-1) were obtained from Belete variety, unmarketable tuber yield from Degemegni (5.0370 t ha-1) and Key Dench (8.5036 t ha-1), average tuber weight from Gudenie (58.67g) and Belete (63.38g), large-sized tuber yield from Bule (54.716%), Gudenie (53.81%) and Belete (59.446 %), small-sized tuber from Key Dench (59.576%), days to flowering and maturity from Gudenie (65.7 and 113.3 days, respectively) and Belete (66.3 and 115.67 days, respectively), plant height on Bule (100 cm), stem number in Bule (4.917) and Jalenie (4.583), total and marketable tuber number from Bule (841473 and 477032 ha-1 , respectively), unmarketable tuber number on Key Dench (571846 ha-1), tuber dry matter from Bule (22.331%), Gudenie (22.495%), Jalenie (22.653%), Belete (24.088%) and Key Dench (21.961%) varieties. Yield of tuber per hectare was significantly and positively correlated with plant height, days to physiological maturity, large-sized tuber, marketable tuber number and yield. In conclusion, results of the experiment revealed that Belete variety resulted as best total (36.533 t ha-1) and marketable (33.985 t ha-1) tuber yields in Bule, Southern Ethiopia during 2017 rainy season.

Growth and tuber yield responses of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) varieties to seed tuber size in northwest highlands of Ethiopia

“…Local variety combined with small-sized seed tuber produced the lowest marketable tuber yield ( Table 4 ). In the present study improved potato varieties generally produced more marketable yield compared to the local variety, which was also reported by other scholars [ 14 , 23 , 26 ].…”

“…The observed variation in terms of days to 50% flowering could be attributed to intrinsic or genetic variation of the varieties in completing their vegetative growth and variation in environmental adaptability among the varieties. Similar study confirmed early flowering of local variety compared to the improved varieties [ 18 , 26 ].…”

“…Gudanie variety produced the highest number of stem per hill (6.51) while Belete variety produced the least stem numbers ( Table 3 ), which could be attributed with the inherent genetic variation in the number of eyes on tubers. Genetic differences among potato varieties influence the number of sprouts or eyes on tubers, which in turn influence the main stem numbers [ 26 ]. Stem numbers sourced from a given tuber vary considerably with variety, storage condition, tuber size, number of viable sprouts at planting, sprout damage at the time of planting, physiological age of the seed tuber and growth conditions [ 32 ].…”

“…Potato varieties differ in their yielding capacities, which is associated with their genetic makeup [ [ 14 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 36 , 37 ]]. According to the researchers, improved varieties have generally high yielding capacities compared to the landrace varieties, which is in line with the findings of the present study.…”

Assessment of Chemical Properties of Yellow-Fleshed Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Roots as Affected by Genotypes and Growing Environments

“…The DM values of statements were 29.8, 30.9, and 29.1 g/100 g, respectively. Highly significant differences (P<0.05) were observed among the DM values that may be a result of inherent differences in the genetic makeup of the plant clones (Getie, Madebo, & Seid, 2018). Fifteen out of the 28 genotypes investigated had DM values above a mean value of 25.2 g/100 g. That implies most (53.57%) had excellent DM values and compared favorably with the local checks used as control.…”