Influence of organic manure on the vegetative growth and tuber production of potato(solanumtuberosum L varspunta) in a Sahara desert region

ABSTRACT: Many studies have been carried out on the growth, productivity and nutritional properties of potato, including the effects of organic manures on tuber yield and quality. however, There are, few studies on the effect of organic manure on potatoes agriculture in arid zones. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of natural organic manure on the growth and productivity ofpotato(SolanumTuberosum, cv. Spunta) in a Saharian region (El-oued, Algeria).An experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with four replications and five treatments namely; control (no manure), the common fertilization treatment applied by the potatoes farmers 2 q/h (15-15-15 NPK) + 25 t/h poultry manure, 50 t/h of poultry manure, of sheep manure and 50 t/h of mixed manure poultry and sheep 1:1 w/w.Results showed an increase in the foliage area , plant cover area and the number of stems per plants by adding poultry manure, mixed manure more treatments of mixed manure (poultry and NPK) or sheep manure in comparison with control (no manure). The treatment by mixed manure showed significant increase in the number of tubers per plant in comparison with other treatments, but all the used treatments caused a significant increase in the tubers weight and the quantity of production and the percent of standard tubers in comparison with control. The treatments with poultry manure gave the highest yield in increasing the yield with high significant difference in comparison to other treatments.Thus the combination of natural organic manures and low rates of inorganic fertilizers is a promising low cost option in the production of high yields of potatoes.