Features of Potato Tuber Formation Depending on the Feeding Area and the Application of Fungicides in the Conditions of the Middle Urals: A Recent Study

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to study the qualitative indicators of potato tubers of the Gala variety at different plant densities and the use of fungicides in the Middle Urals.  Potato is an important agricultural crop in the world, Russia and in Mali. The potato would be introduced in Mali since the 19th century by the French colonizer. Potato cultivation is mainly done in Mali during the cool dry season and its yield potential is high (20 to 30 t/ha). The investigation of quality indicators for potato tubers is an essential component of the advancement of varietal cultivation technology. The study was conducted in 2018 and 2019 on the experimental field of the Ural State Agrarian University's educational and experimental farm. Gala, a medium-early high-yielding potato variety, is the subject of the study. Gravimetric, extraction, ebuliostatic, ionometric, and photometric methods were used in biochemical and agrochemical studies. The electrical conductivity of tubers was measured using a conduct metre in mSm, the concentration of cell juice was measured using a refract metre in %, nitrates in tubers were measured using a nitrate tester in mg/kg, and the acidity (pH) of tubers was measured using a pH metre. The study's findings demonstrated that as the feeding area was increased from 1400 to 2800 cm2, the concentration of potato tubers' cell juice decreased from 7.0 to 2.65%. Electrical conductivity is decreased by the application of the fungicides Shirlan and Infinito. Potato tubers' specific weight rises from 0.92 to 1.16 gram with an increase in the feeding area. The nitrate content decreased with an increase in the feeding area and the use of fungicides from 340 to 326 mg/kg. During the growing period, the content of carbon dioxide (CO2) of the potato plant in the control variant was 775, and with the use of shirlan it was 1043, which is an increase of 1.5 times. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time in the conditions of the Middle Urals, an evaluation of tubers was conducted according to physiological, agrophysical and agrochemical indicators with new devices during the periods of storage of tubers (April) and vegetation of potato plants, based on the feeding area and the use of fungicides.