Effect of Herbicide and Biostimulants on Production and Economic Results of Edible Potato

Abstract

In modern agriculture, preparations qualified as biostimulants are used alongside pesticides. They influence the development of plants and enable a yield-forming effect. An important feature of these preparations is that they are safe for the environment. They can be treated as substitutes for plant protection agents, which is especially important in the era of implementation of the European Green Deal, ordering the reduction of chemicalization of agriculture. The purpose of this paper was to compare the production and economic results of five methods of plantation care in Solanum tuberosum cultivation: on the first object (control), mechanical cultivation was used, and on the second, object the herbicide Avatar 293 ZC (1.5 dm3·ha−1), on object three, the herbicide Avatar 293 ZC (1.5 dm3·ha−1) and the biostimulant PlonoStart (2.0 dm3·ha−1), on object four, the herbicide Avatar 293 ZC (1.5 dm3·ha−1) and biostimulant Aminoplant (1.5 dm3·ha−1), and on object five, the herbicide Avatar 293 ZC (1.5 dm3·ha−1) and biostimulant Agro-Sorb Folium (4.0 dm3·ha−1). The research was conducted from 2018 to 2020 at the Agricultural Experimental Station in Zawady, central-eastern Poland. The results were analyzed, on average, for two Polish edible potato cultivars (Malaga and Oberon), and three years of study (2018–2020) were taken into consideration. The experiment was established as a two-factor experiment in three replicates on light soil in a spit-plot arrangement. A beneficial effect of herbicides and biostimulants on the yield and profitability of edible potato production was observed. An average increase of 33.2% in marketable yield was obtained. The gross margin increased by an average of 49.3%. The highest total yield, as compared to the control object, was obtained from object 5, where the herbicide Avatar 293 ZC with biostimulant Agro-Sorb Folium was applied, such as the greatest economic effect was achieved also in object no. 5. Application of this biostimulant was most beneficial.