Adaptation of Irish potato to Kebbi state Agro-ecological zone of Nigeria

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), sometimes known as Irish potato, was developed in the Andes Cordillera's high plains, where it is widely cultivated for food. In the mid-16th century, the Spanish conquerors of Peru discovered the crop and introduced it to Spain and western Europe. Potato tubers comprise 70–82 percent water, 17–29 percent dry matter, 11–23 percent carbohydrate, 0.8–3 percent protein, 0.1 percent fat, and 1.1 percent minerals, according to their composition. Important vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin C are produced in greater quantities per hectare in potatoes than in other main crops like rice, maize, and wheat. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the adaptation of Irish Potato to Kebbi State Agro-ecological zone of Nigeria during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021. Three irrigation intervals (3, 6, and 9 days), four NPK (20: 10: 10) fertilizer rates (0, 300, 600, and 900kg ha-1), and three potato cultivars are included in the treatments (Nicola, Bertita, and Diamant). A split-plot design with three replications was used to lay out the treatments. The main plots were assigned a factorial combination of irrigation interval and NPK rates, whereas the subplots were given varieties. Potato variety Diamant proved to be the most robust in terms of plant height and number of branches; and Nicola in terms of number of leaves per plant. Variety Nicola had an edge over the two other varieties in terms of fresh tuber yield probably as a result of its higher tuber number per stand. The result implies that the use of either of 600 or 900kg NPK ha-1 and the Variety Nicola could be considered adopted for higher fresh potato yield since recorded superior performance in the study area.