Abstract
Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is an important crop in Zimbabwe due to its nutritional and economic worth. The upgrading of its status to a strategic food crop by the government in 2012 has created the need for research to increase production, increase germplasm and diversify staple food crops. A study to investigate the yield potential of new Irish potato varieties was carried out at the Scientific Industrial Research and Development Centre between June and November 2015. Aim of the study was to evaluate new varieties to introduced and released in Zimbabwe. The varieties BRI1, BRI2, BRI3, BRI4, BRI5, BRI6 and BRI7 were grown with the controls being locally released varieties Amethyst and BP1 which are long and short season varieties respectively. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design with 9 treatments and slope as the blocking factor. Analysis of variance was done using Genstat 14th edition. Data on yield, number of days to 50 % flowering and number of days to 95 % maturity was recorded. Analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the yield of potatoes due to variety. BRI6 and BRI3 achieved the highest yields of 69.63 and 58.89 t/ha respectively. BP1 and BRI7 had the lowest yields of 13.22 and 9.89 t/ha respectively. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in number of days to 50 % flowering due to variety. Amethyst and BRI7 took the highest number of days to 50 % flowering of 30.33 and 29 respectively. BRI6 and BRI1 took the least number of days to 50 % flowering of 17 and 16.67 respectively. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) on the number of days to reach 95 % maturity due to variety. BRI7 and BRI5 took the longest number of days to reach maturity with 139.3 and 136.7 respectively. BRI1 and BP1 took the least number of days to maturity with 100 days each. The research concluded that the new varieties had a higher yield potential. BRI6 had the highest yield followed by BRI3, BRI2, BRI2, BRI4, BRI5, Amethyst, BP1 and BRI1. The varieties BRI7, BRI5, BRI3, BRI4, BRI2, BRI6 and Amethyst are long season varieties while BRI1 and BP1 are short season varieties. A multi locational trial is required to determine the yield potential of the varieties in the different farming regions of the country. The varieties should also be screened for drought tolerance, pest and disease resistance.
Contents
Declaration i
Certification of Thesis ii
Abstract iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
List of Appendices ix
List of figures x
List of tables xi
Abbreviations xii
Chapter 1 1
1.0 Introduction and Justification 1
1.1 Main objective 3
1.2 Specific objectives 3
1.3 Hypothesis 3
Chapter 2 5
2.0 Literature review 5
2.1 Economic importance of Irish potatoes in Zimbabwe 5
2.2 Uses of Irish potato 6
2.3 Potato varieties in Zimbabwe and their characteristics 6
2.3.1 The varieties available in Zimbabwe 7
2.3.1.1 Montclare 7
2.3.2.1 BP1 7
2.3.3.1 Pimpernel 7
2.3.4.1 Amethyst 7
2.3.5.1 Garnet 7
2.3.6.1 Jasper 7
2.3.7.1 Diamond 7
2.4 Potato production factors 8
2.5 Potato Growth Stages 10
2.6 Potato Seed production in Zimbabwe 12
2.7 Potato propagation 13
2.8 Structure of the potato tuber 15
Chapter 3 16
3.0 Materials and Methods 16
3.1 Experimental site 16
3.2 New potato Varieties 16
3.3 Experimental design and treatments 16
3.4 Trial management 17
3.4.1 Land preparation 17
3.4.2 Planting 17
3.4.3 Fertilisation 17
3.4.4 Crop Protection 17
3.4.5 Irrigation 18
3.4.6 Ridging 18
3.4.7 Harvest 18
3.4.8 Sorting and weighing 18
3.5 Data Collected 19
3.5.2 Days to 50 % flowering 19
3.5.3 Yield 19
3.5.4 Days to 95 % maturity (wilting) 19
3.5.5 Number of tubers in each size class 19
3.5.6 Notable pests and diseases 20
3.6 Data analysis 20
Chapter 4 21
4.0 Results 21
4.1 Effect of variety on yield of potato 21
4.2 Effect of Variety on number of days to 50 % flowering 21
4.3 Effect of variety on number of days to 95 % maturity 22
Chapter 5 24
5.0 Discussion 24
Chapter 6 26
6.0 Conclusion and recommendations 26
6.1 Conclusions 26
6.2 Recommendations 26
Reference list 27
APPENDICES 33
Appendix 1: ANOVA for effect of variety on the yield of potato varieties 33
Appendix 2: ANOVA for effect of variety on number of days to 50 % flowering 33
Appendix 3: ANOVA for effect of variety on number of days to 95 % maturity 34
Appendix 4: Number of tubers and their grades 35
Appendix 5: Notable Pests and Diseases 36
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(2017, 08). Evaluation Of New Irish Potato (solanum Tuberosum L.) Varieties For Yield Potential In Zimbabwe.. ProjectStoc.com. Retrieved 08, 2017, from https://projectstoc.com/read/8659/evaluation-of-new-irish-potato-solanum-tuberosum-l-varieties-for-yield-potential-in-zimbabwe-813
"Evaluation Of New Irish Potato (solanum Tuberosum L.) Varieties For Yield Potential In Zimbabwe." ProjectStoc.com. 08 2017. 2017. 08 2017 <https://projectstoc.com/read/8659/evaluation-of-new-irish-potato-solanum-tuberosum-l-varieties-for-yield-potential-in-zimbabwe-813>.
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"Evaluation Of New Irish Potato (solanum Tuberosum L.) Varieties For Yield Potential In Zimbabwe.." ProjectStoc.com. 08, 2017. Accessed 08, 2017. https://projectstoc.com/read/8659/evaluation-of-new-irish-potato-solanum-tuberosum-l-varieties-for-yield-potential-in-zimbabwe-813.
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