Effects of Pre-Plant and In-Season Nitrogen Management Practices on Tuber Yield and Quality of Two Potato Cultivars

Abstract

ABSTRACT A good balance in pre-plant and in-season nitrogen (N) application is important for optimal production of high quality potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers in coarse texture soils, to improve N uptake efficiency, and minimize N losses. Field experiments were conducted in a Quincy fine sand (mixed, mesic Xeric Torripsamments) in the Columbia Basin region in the Pacific Northwest under center pivot irrigation. In the first year (2000), ‘Russet Burbank’ and ‘Umatilla Russet’ cultivars were grown with 112 kg·ha− of N as pre-plant soil application. In-season fertigation was done with 224 kg·ha− of N in either 2, 5, 10, or 20 doses starting three weeks after emergence. In-season N frequency had no significant effects on the tuber yield (60 Mg-ha−) or quality of both the cultivars. The second year (2001) ‘Ranger Russet’ and ‘Umatilla Russet’ cultivars were grown with either 56, 112, or 168 kg·ha− pre-plant N treatment (including the soil residual N content). The total N over the entire growing period wa...