S. K. Biswas
Senior Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
M.S. Rahman
nior Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
P. K. Sarkar
Principal Scientific Officer
IWM Division, BARI, Gazipur
I. Hossain
Principal Scientific Officer
AWRC, BARI,Rajshahi
A set of field experiments was conducted at the farmer's field in Terokhada, Rajshahi city during 2011  2012 to identify the right dose of N-P-K fertilizers for potato (Diamant, BARI Alu-7) production by irrigation with municipal wastewater. The varying levels of nitrogen and phosphorus had significant influence on growth and yield variables, and yield of potato. The tuber yield of potato increased to attain their maximum values up to nitrogen rate of 150 kg/ha and phosphorus rate of 12 kg/ha beyond this tuber yield decreased. The omission of N and P reduced all the growth and yield variables as well as the yield of potato. The reduction in the growth and yield variables due to the omission of P was less than that due to the omission of N. Unlike N and P, the higher doses of K showed no significant effect on the growth and yield of potato. However, for all cases, the maximum yield does not obtain with the maximum fertilizer application. This fact is more conspicuous for N and P fertilizers than K fertilizer. Regression analysis indicates that N-P-K of 137-14-72 kg/ha can be a balanced dose for potato production by irrigation with wastewater.
Urban wastewater, irrigation, potato yield
Terokhada, Rajshahi
Crop-Soil-Water Management
This study was conducted to quantify the right dose of N, P and K fertilizers for potato production under wastewater irrigation which will match the crop requirement and to find out the most limiting nutrient for potato cultivation with wastewater.
A set of field experiments was conducted with potato crop (cv. Diamant, BARI Alu-7) at the farmer's field in Terokhada village, which is at the outskirt of Rajshahi City Corporation, during 2011 - 2012. The soil was a silty clay loam having a bulk density of 1.44 gm/cc and field capacity of 29.57%. The experiment was designed in a randomized complete block with five treatments and three replications to identify the balanced quantity of one major nutrient. The details of the treatments for this set of experiments are described below separately for the particular nutrient under investigation:
For nitrogen
N0= 0 kg N/ha + standard dose of P and K (control)
N1= 120 kg N/ha + standard dose of P and K
N2= 150 kg N/ha + standard dose of P and K
N3= 180 kg N/ha + standard dose of P and K
N4= 210 kg N/ha + standard dose of P and K
For phosphorus
P0= 0 kg P/ha + standard dose of N and K (control)
P1= 8 kg P/ha + standard dose of N and K
P2= 12 kg P/ha + standard dose of N and K
P3= 16 kg P/ha + standard dose of N and K
P4= 20 kg P/ha + standard dose of N and K
For potassium
K0= 0 kg K/ha + standard dose of N and K (control)
K1= 60 kg K/ha + standard dose of N and K
K2= 80 kg K/ha + standard dose of N and K
K3= 100 kg K/ha + standard dose of N and K
K4= 120 kg K/ha + standard dose of N and K
BARI Annual Report 2011-2012
Municipal wastewater of Rajshahi city did not contain harmful pollutants like heavy metals. Rather, it contained considerable amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are essential nutrients for plant growth, soil fertility and productivity levels. So, it can successfully be used for agricultural irrigation. Application of N, P and K at the quantity more than the crop requirement exerted negative impacts on potato yield; these effects were more prominent for N and P than for K. This implied that N was the most limiting and P and K were less limiting factors for potato production. Regression analysis indicates that N-P-K of 137-14-72 kg/ha can be a balanced dose for potato production with wastewater irrigation. Municipal wastewater can be a feasible source of irrigation to upland crops in dry prone areas like Rajshahi
Report/Proceedings