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New Approaches for Effective Nutrient Management in Potato Cropping Systems

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 20772

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emerson F. C. Souza

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Guest Editor

Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
Interests: soil fertility; nutrient management; crops; plant nutrition; environmental quality

Prof. Dr. Carl J. Rosen

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Guest Editor

Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108-6028, USA
Interests: nutrient management; soil fertility; crops; soil quality; nutrient use efficiency; environmental chemistry

Prof. Dr. Rogério P. Soratto

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Guest Editor

Department of Crop Science, College of Agricultural Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil & Center of Tropical Roots and Starches, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil
Interests: crop production; soil fertility; nutrient management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Potato is the world’s third most important food crop and a fundamental component of global food security. To support intensive potato biomass production during the growing season a high level of readily available nutrients is required. A common practice used by growers to meet this requirement is to apply conventional fertilizers based on pre-season soil nutrient analysis. While this practice may not compromise the profitability of potato production, it can lead to excessive fertilization in the early growing season, and not only result in the waste of excess fertilizer but also environmental pollution. Therefore, further practical approaches to optimize nutrient management for cultivation are needed, and these methods should be beneficial for the sustainability and profitability of potato production. This Special Issue will focus on field studies that consider managing nutrients with innovative approaches, including remote sensing, plant nutritional status, methods of fertilization (i.e., fertigation and foliar fertilization), use of enhanced-efficiency fertilizers, variable sources of nutrients, co-application of conventional fertilizers with additives (i.e., N-stabilizers, controlled release fertilizers, and biostimulants). Attention will also be given to contributions that cover the development or refining of soil test-based nutrient recommendations, as well as, use of soil quality indicators (i.e., organic matter, salinity, tilth, compaction, and available nutrients) to optimize potato nutrients management.

Dr. Emerson F. C. Souza
Prof. Dr. Carl J. Rosen
Prof. Dr. Rogério P. Soratto
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Solanum tuberosum
fertilizer management
soil fertility
plant nutrition
potato production
nutrient uptake
nutrient removal
nutrient use efficiency
nutrient surplus and losses

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 1437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing Sustainable Potato Production—A Case Study in Northern China

by Na Wang, Pytrik Reidsma, Ziquan Wang, Xiaohan Zhou, Corné Kempenaar, Dianqiu Lv and Martin K. van Ittersum

Agronomy 2021, 11(7), 1322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11071322 - 29 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2353

Abstract

Potato is the fourth most important staple crop in China. To meet the increased demand and environmental objectives, potato production should be enhanced by sustainable practices that aim to maximize yield and resource use efficiencies and minimize environmental impacts. Most experiments so far have taken place on experimental stations, while on-farm experimentation is needed to evaluate, demonstrate and scale more sustainable practices. On-farm field experiments were conducted in two years (2017, 2018) in northern China to investigate and demonstrate the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertiliser and irrigation input levels on potato yield, quality, resource use efficiency and environmental impacts. The 2017 experimental results on one farmer’s field showed that under irrigated conditions, adding N fertiliser (from 0 to 267 kg ha⁻¹) did not increase yield due to the high soil N supply, rather it reduced tuber quality. The 2018 experimental results, in which four additional farmers were involved, indicated that, under irrigated conditions, reducing N fertiliser from the current rates (189–252 kg ha⁻¹) to lower levels (109–181 kg ha⁻¹) did not affect yield nor quality; while further reducing N fertiliser inputs (to 9–117 kg ha⁻¹) resulted in a yield reduction (18% on average) in some fields. In both years, irrigation improved tuber yield and quality compared to that under rainfed conditions. The nitrogen use efficiency was improved and N surplus was reduced by applying irrigation and reducing N fertiliser input. Farmers expressed they were willing to reduce N fertiliser input by 10–20%, and indicated that a widespread adaptation of drip irrigation is hindered by the high costs and labor requirements. Site-specific recommendations on optimum N fertiliser and irrigation management must be provided, which should preferably be based on regular quantitative monitoring of soil N supply and soil moisture content. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Approaches for Effective Nutrient Management in Potato Cropping Systems)

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16 pages, 281 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Plant Growth, Yield and Quality of Potato Crop in Relation to Potassium Fertilization

by Maha M.E. Ali, Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Daila AbdelFattah Fattah H. Selim, Mohssen Elbagory, Maha M. Othman, Alaa El-Dein Omara and Mostafa H. Mohamed

Agronomy 2021, 11(4), 675; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11040675 - 02 Apr 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5222

Abstract

The present work evaluated the effect of soil (S) and foliage (F) applied potassium on the growth, yield, and quality of potato plants. Potassium was added in soil at the recommended rate for all the treatments combining mineral fertilizers with K-feldspar and biofertilizers, while foliar spraying included the application of potassium citrate (PC), potassium silicate (PS), and monopotassium phosphate (MP). The obtained results showed that plant height was highest following treatment with 100% mineral potassium fertilizer under the foliar application of MP, while the content of P, K, and total carbohydrates in leaves also increased with the same fertilization treatment. On the other hand, the highest values for number of stems and fresh and dry weight per plant, as well as the highest nitrogen content in leaves, were obtained after the addition of mineral potassium fertilizer and the foliar spraying of PC, regardless of the growing season. Yield parameters were positively affected by the combination of mineral potassium fertilizers (100% or 80% K₂SO₄ + 20% K-feldspar + biofertilizer) and the foliar spraying of MP, while the total nitrogen, protein, amino acids, potassium, phosphorus, and starch content of tubers were positively affected by the same mineral fertilizer treatments combined with foliar spraying of MP or CP. In conclusion, the application of mineral potassium fertilizer with foliar spraying of MP or CP increased most of the plant growth- and tuber chemical composition-related parameters. These results highlight the importance of potassium fertilizer regimes for achieving high tuber yields and improving the quality of tubers in a sustainable and cost-effective manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Approaches for Effective Nutrient Management in Potato Cropping Systems)

13 pages, 318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fertilizer Application Levels in Potato Crops and the Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System (DRIS)

by Roberta Camargos Oliveira, João Ricardo Rodrigues da Silva, Regina Maria Quintão Lana, Alexandre Igor de Azevedo Pereira, Renata Castoldi, Reginaldo de Camargo and José Magno Queiroz Luz

Agronomy 2021, 11(1), 51; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11010051 - 29 Dec 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4144

Abstract

The rates of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers used in the cultivation of potatoes are often considered excessive, as they can cause imbalance among the essential elements present in the soil. Using leaf nutrient analysis, this study aimed to evaluate the productivity of potato tubers subjected to different rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) to establish the diagnosis and recommendation integrated system indices. Three experiments were conducted, one for each nutrient (N, P, and K), with Agata and Atlantic cultivars in Unaí (Minas Gerais state) and the Agata cultivar in Mucugê (Bahia state). The nutrient rates were 0, 30, 70, 120, and 280 kg ha⁻¹ of N; 0, 150, 300, 600, and 900 kg ha⁻¹ of P₂O₅; and 0, 70, 110, 220, and 450 kg ha⁻¹ of K₂O. Agata and Atlantic had adequate nutritional balance under K application. Agata had a more adequate nutritional balance under P application in Mucugê, whereas K fertilization was more decisive for the nutritional balance in Unaí. The differences in the results can be explained by the different soil textures and nutrients in the soil between the regions. The results show the need to consider the soil conditions and the nutrient uptake/translocation capacity of cultivars before establishing rates to increase production revenue and avoid the waste of fertilizers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Approaches for Effective Nutrient Management in Potato Cropping Systems)

Review

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18 pages, 2587 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Potassium: A Vital Macronutrient in Potato Production—A Review

by Shahram Torabian, Salar Farhangi-Abriz, Ruijun Qin, Christos Noulas, Vidyasagar Sathuvalli, Brian Charlton and Dimitra A. Loka

Agronomy 2021, 11(3), 543; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11030543 - 13 Mar 2021

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 8156

Abstract

Potassium (K) is a primary macronutrient for overall plant growth, yield potential, product quality and stress resistance of crops. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crops require a high amount of potassium to achieve the ideal yield and quality. Therefore, the determination of optimum K rate and efficient source for potato is necessary because K affects crop physiological processes, dry matter production, cooking, and processing requirements. Through modeling on the pooled data extracted from 62 studies, the highest tuber yields might be obtained at an exchangeable soil K level of 200 mg kg⁻¹ approximately, dependent on soil pH, texture, and organic matter. Through modeling on the data of 48 studies, it also revealed that application of potassium sulfate (K₂SO₄) and potassium chloride (KCl) at rates of 200 kg ha⁻¹ and potassium nitrate (KNO₃) at a rate of 100 kg ha⁻¹ might achieve the ideal yield, implying the importance of K sources in potato production. However, these values (either soil exchangeable K content, or fertilizer rates) might not be applicable in a specific growing environment for a specific potato variety. It seems that there is no discrimination among split, pre-plant or in-season application of K, although pre-plant fertilization might be a trustworthy strategy for economic tuber yield. Owing to the luxury consumption of K by potato crop, a combination of factors, including soil exchangeable K level, petiole K concentration, crop removal amount, soil conditions, management practices, climatic conditions, and potato variety, should be considered in order to make rational K fertilizer recommendations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Approaches for Effective Nutrient Management in Potato Cropping Systems)

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