Abstract
An on-farm trial was carried out at KARI (Tigoni) and in Nyandarua County in central Kenyan highlands to determine the yields of some common potato cultivars following storage in a diffuse light store (DLS) for eight months. The trial was carried out for two consecutive seasons i.e. March-July 2012 (first season) and October 2012 to February 2013 (second season). Eight potato cultivars commonly grown in Kenya and of different maturity periods were used. In Nyandarua, the experiment was carried out in three farmers’ fields while the KARI Tigoni station was meant for comparison. In each site, the experiment was a split-plot with potato cultivars as main-plot factor and storage as sub-plot factor. There were three replications in each site. Planting of tubers after storage in DLS gave significantly (P<=0.05) more yields than planting freshly harvested tubers. This difference was observed both on the farmers’ fields and at KARI Tigoni research station.
Highlights
The potato is an important food security crop in Kenya second only to maize in terms of production and utilization
An on-farm trial was carried out at KARI (Tigoni) and in Nyandarua County in central Kenyan highlands to determine the yields of some common potato cultivars following storage in a diffuse light store (DLS) for eight months
The use of seeds from informal sources has led to low yields, poor quality produce, and spread of pests and diseases (GIZ-Private Sector Development in Agriculture (PSDA) Kenya, 2011; Riungu, 2011)
Summary
The potato is an important food security crop in Kenya second only to maize in terms of production and utilization. The use of seeds from informal sources has led to low yields, poor quality produce, and spread of pests and diseases (GIZ-PSDA Kenya, 2011; Riungu, 2011). Planting of unsprouted seed tubers results in plants with one or two stems and poor stand establishment leading to low yields Such tubers take long to emerge in the field and the plants mature late in the season; such a crop suffers from moisture stress and other pests such as aphids. Climate change has led to low and erratic rainfall In such uncertain situations, only well spouted seed tubers have a chance of carrying a potato crop to maturity. Availability of well sprouted seed tubers at the beginning of each planting season will go a long way in increasing potato productivity and yields in the Kenyan highlands. In the intensively cultivated Kenyan highlands where two or three potato crops are grown in a year, the www.ccsenet.org/jas
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
