EFFECTS OF ZINC AND MANGANESE ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF POTATO

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Horticulture Farm, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur during November 2009 to February 2010 to study the effects of Zinc and Manganese on growth and yield of potato cv. Granola. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. There were four levels of Zinc, viz. 0, 3, 4 and 5 kg Zn ha’! and also 4 levels of Manganese, i.e. 0, 1, 2 and 3 kg Mn ha’! for this study. The results of the experiment revealed that plant height, number of leaves plant”, number of main stems hill, number of tubers hill, weight of tubers hill’, weight of tubers plot’ as well as hectare’ were maximum at 4 kg Zn + 1kg Mn ha’, while the minimum values were recorded from the control. The effect of Zn and Mn on days required to first emergence and 80% emergence of plants was not significant. The tallest plant, maximum number of leaves plant’, maximum number of main stems hill', highest number of tubers hill’, maximum weight of tubers hill’ and highest weight of tubers plot’ and hectare” were found under 4 kg Zn ha’. Results also showed that the different doses of Mn had no significant effect on the growth and yield of potato. Increasing doses of Zinc resulted higher yield than the control. The maximum yield of tuber (23.82 t ha’') was recorded in the combination of 4 kg Zn + 1kg Mn ha”.