Effects of Organic Fertilizer ReplacingChemical Nitrogen Fertilizer under Different Planting Densities on Potatoes in the Arid Farming Area of Central Gansu
To understand the effect of different combinations of organic fertilizer replacing nitrogen fertilizer and planting densities on the agronomic characters and yield of potatoes in the arid farming area of Central Gansu,a study was conducted using Longshu 7 as the experimental variety.Three fertilization levels(conventional nitrogen fertilization,organic fertilizer replacing 20%of nitrogen fertilizer,and organic fertilizer replacing 40%of nitrogen fertilizer)combined with three planting densities(52,500 plants/ha,60,000 plants/ha,and 67,500 plants/ha)wereset up in this study to evaluate their effects on potato growth.The results showed that different combinations of organic fertilizer substitution and planting densities had significant impact on agronomic characters,yield,and marketable tuber rate.Under the same nitrogen replacement level,both potato yield and marketable tuber rate increased and then decreased with the increase in planting density.Under the same planting density,replacing 20%of nitrogen fertilizer with organic fertilizer not only improved agronomic characters but also enhanced the yield components and yield.The highest average yield of 28,333.3 kg/ha was obtained from the combination of 20%organic fertilizer substitution(N 216 kg/ha+2700 kg/ha of organic fertilizer)and a planting density of 60,000 plants/ha,which was 12.79%higher than that in the conventional nitrogen fertilization treatment(N 270 kg/ha)with a density of 52,500 plants/ha.The marketable tuber rate was also the highest at 79.8%,which was 10.1 percentage points higher than that of the conventional nitrogen treatment.Based on the comprehensive analysis,the optimal combination for potato production in the arid farming area of Central Gansu is 20%organic fertilizer substitution(N 216 kg/ha+2700 kg/ha organic fertilizer)with a planting density of 60,000 plants/ha.
Organic fertilizer replacing chemical nitrogen fertilizerPlanting densityPotatoAgronomic characterYieldArid farming area of central Gansu