Abstract

Potato in most of the industrially developed and developing countries has an important status among agricultural crops. Strip plot layout within a randomized complete block design with three replications was used to evaluate potato yield and chemical concentration of some elements at Fereydan Research Station, Esfahan, Iran in 2012. Three levels of fertilizer included manure (20, 40 and 60 t/ha), biological fertilizer (0, 100 and 200 ml/ha) and chemical fertilizer (175, 350 and 525 kg/ha). Cultivars were Marfona, Maradona and Ramus. The highest plant height, the number of stems/m2, total dry matter, LAI, tuber yield, dry matter of tuber and tuber weight in all three categories were related to usage of chemical fertilizer. However, there was no significant difference in tuber yield, dry matter of tuber and the number of tubers between chemical and manure fertilizers. Application of 60 t/ha manure, 200 ml/ha biological fertilizer and 525 kg/ha chemical fertilizer had obtained the highest plant height, the number of stems, total dry matter, LAI, tuber yield, dry matter of tuber and tuber weight. Marfona had obtained the maximum plant height, total dry matter, LAI, tuber yield, dry matter of tuber, the number of tubers and tuber weight. Application of 60 t/ha manure, 200 ml/ha biological fertilizer, 525 kg/ha chemical fertilizer obtained the highest potato tuber yield and weight. Application of 60 t/ha manure fertilizer together with Marfona produced the highest yield. The positive effects of manure application on the growth and yield of potato are a common phenomenon, as manures provide nutrients to the plants. It can be concluded that manure was effective in improving potato growth.