Some effects of fertilizer interactions on growth and composition of the potato plant

Abstract

1. An account has been given of the percentages of nutrients in the dry matter and weights of nutrients in tops, tubers and roots of potato plants throughout growth under six fertilizer treatments.2. Manurial treatment affected dry-matter content of tops but not of tubers.3. Balanced manuring, as represented by N2PK treatment, resulted in tubers in which nitrogen content of dry matter declined with age. The effect of the K was to lower the nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium contents, to increase chlorine content of all parts of the plant, and to maintain a much higher and more constant concentration of potassium in tops and roots. With unbalanced manuring the nitrogen content of the tubers was more constant.4. Manuring with nitrogen only raised the content of potassium in the dry matter of all parts of the plant.5. Nitrogenous manuring, whether alone or in combination, raised the nitrogen content of the dry matter of all parts of the plant, a smaller proportion of which was present as protein. Calcium and chlorine contents were lowered.6. Phosphate manuring in conjunction with nitrogen depressed the concentration of potash in the dry matter of all parts of the plant.7. N2P plants were the first to attain their maximum uptake of all nutrients, namely, about 7 weeks from appearance above ground, at which time N2PK plants had absorbed only 40% of the quantities finally noted.8. No losses of elements were observed in the plants which received balanced manuring (N2PK), but losses of calcium and chlorine occurred in all other plants, amounting on the average to 25 and 37% respectively, but being highest in N2P plants. A significant loss of potassium occurred in N2 plants and a highly suggestive loss of phosphorus occurred in N2P plants.