Impact of Crop Sequence and Fertilization on Potato Yield in a Long-Term Study

Abstract

The research was conducted during the years 2007–2013, on the base of a long-term study established in 1958, at the Experimental Station Brody (52°26′ N; 16°18′ E), belonging to the Poznań University of Life Sciences. Varieties of potatoes resistant to cyst nematodes were grown in a seven-course crop rotation (potato—spring barley—alfalfa—alfalfa—spring oilseed rape—winter wheat—winter rye) and in continuous monoculture. The presented study from the years 2007–2013 covers the next 8th rotation of the 7-field crop rotation (since 1958). With regard to continuous cultivation, this is the period between the 50th and 56th year of the potato monoculture. The experiment included 11 fertilization variants, of which the following 7 were included in the study: 1—control object without fertilization, 2—manure, 3—manure + NPK, 4—NPKCa, 5—NPK, 6—NP, 7—NK and 8—PK. Every year, mineral and organic fertilization was applied in the following doses per 1 ha: N—90 kg, P—26 kg, K—100 kg, manure—30 t and Ca—0.7 t. Potato cultivation in monoculture resulted in a significant reduction in tuber yield compared to crop rotation and a reduction in the number of tubers per plant and the average weight of one tuber. Manure fertilization, especially in combination with NPK mineral fertilizer, had a more favorable effect on the level of potato yielding and the content of N, P, K and Mg in tubers compared to only mineral fertilization, but decreased the content of dry matter, starch and Ca. The results of long-term experiment indicate that the most effective in potato cultivation is the combined application of both manure and full mineral fertilization (NPK) with the proper sequence of plants (crop rotation).

Does the Deep Placement of Fertilizers Increase Potato Yields, Fertilization Efficiency and Reduce N2O Emissions from the Soil?

“…Data presented by Blecharczyk et al [39] under Polish climatic conditions, where the average potato yield in a mineral-organic fertilization system was 26.4 t ha −1 , showed that potatoes uptake approximately 88 kg N and 46.4 kg P 2 O 5 per ha. In a mineral-organic fertilization system yielding about 21.0 t ha −1 , the nutrient uptake was approximately 62.6 kg N and 34.1 kg P 2 O 5 per ha.…”

The Impact of Long-Term Fallowing on the Yield and Quality of Winter Rape and Winter and Spring Wheat

“…Many factors influence the final yield of rape seeds [46,47]. The discontinuation of the cultivation of cereals and oilseed rape lasting for a few years is very beneficial and may result in an increase in yield by over 25% when winter oilseed rape is cultivated afterwards [48,49].…”

Foliar spraying of plant growth regulators can alleviate high-temperature stress in late-sown spring potatoes to improve yield and quality

“…The suitable temperature for aboveground plant growth is 20-25 ℃, and for underground tuber formation is 15-20 ℃ (Tang et al 2018). However, in agricultural practice, potato planting times are typically staggered to align with crop rotations, previous crops such as vegetables may be harvested later than the spring potato sowing time (Gao et al 2022;Blecharczyk et al 2023). At the same time, potatoes may be affected by natural disasters such as cold waves and cold temperatures in late spring, leading to the withering and death of potato plants (Yan et al 2021).…”