International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.6, 333-342 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 333 Research Article Open Access Evaluation of Potato Varieties for Yield and Yield Components in Myagdi, Nepal Bishal Dhakal 1 , Tej Narayan Bhusal 2, Sushrita Acharya1, Dikshya Bist 1 1 Faculty of Agriculture, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, 44800, Nepal 2 Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Rampur, Chitwan, 44800, Nepal Corresponding author: bishal29499@gmail.com International Journal of Horticulture, 2024, Vol.14, No.6 doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0034 Received: 21 Aug., 2024 Accepted: 05 Oct., 2024 Published: 01 Nov., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Dhakal et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Dhakal B., Bhusal T.N., Acharya S., and Bist D., 2024, Evaluation of potato varieties for yield and yield components in Myagdi, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 14(6): 333-342 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2024.14.0034) Abstract An experiment was conducted between February and June 2022 in Annapurna Rular Municipality, Myagdi, Nepal with an objective to assess various potato varieties for their yield and yield components. The experiment followed a randomized complete design with five treatments (Desiree, Janakdev, Kufri Jyoti, Mustang local, and Myagdi local) each replicated four times. Growth parameters, including plant height (cm), number of leaves per plant, number of stems per hill, and canopy diameter (cm) at various days after planting, were measured. Yield parameters such as tuber weight per plant (g), tuber number per plant, marketable tuber (kg/m2), Unmarketable tuber (kg/m2) and tuber distribution by grading in terms of number and weight were recorded. Additionally, disease scoring was done for severity and incidence of potato wart on potato varieties. The results indicated that Janakdev exhibited the tallest plant (66.00 cm), while Desiree had the shortest (47.50 cm). Janakdev also displayed the maximum number of leaves per plant (76.90), whereas Desiree had the minimum (50.55). Desiree and Myagdi local recorded the highest (5.53) and lowest (3.50) number of main stems per hill, respectively. Myagdi local demonstrated the maximum canopy diameter (55.15 cm), while Desiree had the minimum (43.91 cm). Janakdev showed the highest tuber weight per plant (512.73 g) and the highest tuber number (8.50). Mustang local produced the highest number of small-sized tubers (25 mm), with Janakdev recording the highest number of large-sized tubers (>50 mm). In terms of yield, Janakdev yielded the highest (37.93 t/ha), whereas Mustang local had the lowest yield (12.27 t/ha). Highest incidence of potato wart was found on Myagdi local (Seto aalu) about 98%. Given its superior performance across various growth and yield traits, Janakdev demonstrated high yield potential (337.93 t/ha) in khibang-06, Myagdi, Nepal. Consequently, Janakdev was recommended as the most suitable variety for farmers in khibang-06, Myagdi. Keywords Potato varieties; Evaluation; Wart; Yield components; Myagdi local 1 Introduction Potato is the world's fourth most staple food crop for the world population and is rich in carbohydrates, providing a primary source of energy. Sustainable production of potato can contribute to all four pillars of food security: availability, access, utilization and stability. In 2020, world production of potatoes was 359 million tons, led by China with 22% of the total. Other major producers were India, Russia, Ukraine and the United State (FAO, 2022). In terms of area coverage potato ranks fifth (198,788 ha) among main staple crops paddy, maize, wheat, millet and barley; second in total production (3,325,231 t) and first in productivity (16.72 t/ha) in Nepal (MOALD, 2020). Potato has a short cropping period, low water consumption, high protein content, comparatively higher prices, and raw materials of industries with about 90% of the requirement being produced within the country. Its cultivation is common among farmers because of its greater adaptability, high yield capacity, and high demand, contributing 6.57% to AGDP and 2.17% to GDP, respectively (Bajracharya and Sapkota, 2017). It is used as subsidiary food as part of vegetables in Terai region, whereas as staple food in Hill and Mountain Regions of Nepal (Subedi et al., 2019). Myagdi is one of the districts in Gandaki Province, Nepal, covering an area of 2,297.06 km2. In Myagdi potato is cultivated once a year with productivity of 10.17 t/ha in the year 2016/17, 10.57 t/ha in the year 2017/18, 15.63 t/ha in the year 2018/19, 15.67 t/ha in the year 2019/20 and 15.85 t/ha in the year 2020/21 (MOALD, 2020). The productivity of potato in Myagdi is increasing but not satisfactory. Its productivity is still lower than the national
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