Rejuvenating potato growth and yield in challenging semiarid and saline sandy Cholistan: harnessing PGPB-coated N and P application strategies.
BMC Plant Biol
; 24(1): 386, 2024 May 09.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38724922
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Potato serves as a major non-cereal food crop and income source for small-scale growers in Punjab, Pakistan. Unfortunately, improper fertilization practices have led to low crop yields, worsened by challenging environmental conditions and poor groundwater quality in the Cholistan region. To address this, we conducted an experiment to assess the impact of two fertilizer application approaches on potato cv. Barna using plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) coated biofertilizers. The first approach, termed conventional fertilizer application (CFA), involved four split applications of PGPB-coated fertilizers at a rate of 10075 kg acre-1 (N and P). The second, modified fertilizer application (MFA), employed nine split applications at a rate of 8040 kg acre-1.RESULTS:
The MFA approach significantly improved various plant attributes compared to the CFA. This included increased plant height (28%), stem number (45%), leaf count (46%), leaf area index (36%), leaf thickness (three-folds), chlorophyll content (53%), quantum yield of photosystem II (45%), photosynthetically active radiations (56%), electrochromic shift (5.6%), proton flux (24.6%), proton conductivity (71%), linear electron flow (72%), photosynthetic rate (35%), water use efficiency (76%), and substomatal CO2 (two-folds), and lowered non-photochemical quenching (56%), non-regulatory energy dissipation (33%), transpiration rate (59%), and stomatal conductance (70%). Additionally, the MFA approach resulted in higher tuber production per plant (21%), average tuber weight (21.9%), tuber diameter (24.5%), total tuber yield (29.1%), marketable yield (22.7%), seed-grade yield (9%), specific gravity (9.6%), and soluble solids (7.1%). It also reduced undesirable factors like goli and downgrade yields by 57.6% and 98.8%, respectively. Furthermore, plants under the MFA approach exhibited enhanced nitrogen (27.8%) and phosphorus uptake (40.6%), with improved N (26.1%) and P uptake efficiency (43.7%) compared to the CFA approach.CONCLUSION:
The use of PGPB-coated N and P fertilizers with a higher number of splits at a lower rate significantly boosts potato production in the alkaline sandy soils of Cholistan.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Phosphorus
/
Solanum tuberosum
/
Fertilizers
/
Nitrogen
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Plant Biol
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article