Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Varieties Improvement in Kerinci, Jambi

Abstract

Potato is the main vegetable commodity cultivated by farmers in Kerinci Regency and has been supported by appropriate agro-ecosystems, the availability of land areas, labor and market opportunities as well as government endowment. In general, farmers in every season have not fully implemented cultivation technology recommendations. This paper aims to describe the growth and productivity improvement of potato varieties in Kerinci, Jambi. The activity was carried out in Tanjung Bunga Village, Kayu Aro District, Kerinci Region during wet season 2018, involving 3 cooperative farmers and a land area of 0.25 ha which was planted with two varieties namely Granola and Medians. The results showed that the Medians variety gave a higher number of tubers than the Granola variety, but a large number of tubers was obtained from the Granola variety. Therefore, the Granola variety provided a heavier yield of 17.08 kg or equivalent to 22.775.5 kg/ha, while the Medians was only 12.50 kg or 17.862.25 kg/ha. This study was also found three main pests that occurred ie, leaf-miner fly, armyworm, and tuber-miner, whereas late blight disease was caused by Phytophthora infestans simultaneously infecting both varieties. However, conducting the demonstration plots in this season, the Granola variety was more resistant to disease than the Medians variety.