Potato is a cool season crop that originated in Peru and Bolivia. It grows best with temperatures between 20-25°C and requires well-drained, fertile soils between pH 5-6.5. Tubers form best under low temperatures and short days. Varieties have been developed in Bangladesh with yields reaching 30-45 tons/hectare. Potatoes are susceptible to many diseases and insects and proper irrigation, fertilization, and pest management are needed to achieve high yields.

1. Production technology of potato
Solanum tuberosum
Family: Solanaceae

2. Origin and History
• Centre of origin of potato is in Peru, Bolivia (South America).
• Evidence indicates that potatoes were cultivated for centuries by South American Indians
and the tubers were used as a common article of food.
Nutritional values

4. Climatic Requirements
• basically cool season crop.
• low temperature and short day conditions at the time of tuberization for rapid bulking
rate.
• About 20°C temperature is good for tuber formation and it reduces as the
temperature increases.
• Tuberization is badly affected at about 30⁰ C temperature.
• At higher temperature, the respiration rate increases and the carbohydrates
produced by photosynthesis are consumed rather than stored in tuber.
• High temperatures at any part of growing period affect the size of leaflets, thereby
reducing the tuber formation.

5. • Grows best under long day conditions sunshine along with cooler
nights are essential for reducing the spread of diseases.
• Relatively high temperature of 20-25⁰C is optimum for stem and leaf
growth.
• Optimum night temperature is 18-20⁰C and tuberization is inhibited
above 21⁰C night temperature.
• High night temperature decreases tuber yield more than high day
temperature.

6. Soil Conditions
• sandy loam, silt loam, loam and clay soil.
• Soil for potato should be friable, well aerated, fairly deep and well supplied with
organic matter.
• Well- drained sandy loam and medium loam soils are most suitable for potato
cultivation.
• pH 5.0 to 6.5
• acidic conditions tend to limit scab diseases.

7. Variety:
BARI Alu-1 (Heera), BARI Alu- 2 (Morene), BARI Alu-3 (Origo), BARI Alu-4
(Ailsa), BARI Alu-5 (Patronese), BARI Alu-6 (Multa), BARI Alu-7 (Diamant), BARI Alu-8
(Cardinal), BARI Alu-9 (Mondial), BARI Alu-10 (Kufri Sundhari), BARI Alu-11 (Chamak),
BARI Alu-12 (Dheera), BARI Alu-13 (Granola), BARI Alu-14 (Cleopetra), BARI Alu-15
(Binella), BARI Alu-16 (Arinda), BARI Alu-17 (Raja), BARI Alu-18 (Baraka),BARI Alu-19
(Bintje), BARI Alu-20 (Jarla), BARI Alu-21 (Provento),BARI Alu-22 (Saikath), BARI Alu-23
(Ultra), BARI Alu-24 (Dora), BARI Alu-25 (Asterix), BARI Alu-26 (Felsina), BARI Alu-27
(Spirit), BARI Alu-28 (Lady ROSETA), BARI Alu-29 (Courage), BARI Alu-30 (Meridian),
BARI Alu-31 (Sagita), BARI Alu-32 (Quince), BARI Alu-33 (Almira), BARI Alu-34 (Laura),
BARI Alu- 35 --- BARI Alu-81, BARI TPS-1, BARI TPS-2.

8. Sowing time : November.
Seed rate : 1.5-2.0 t/ha.
Sowing distance :
60cm x 25cm (whole tuber)
45cm x 15cm (cut tuber)

9. Fertilizer :
Cow dung 8-10 t/ha
Urea 220-250 kg/ha
TSP 120-150 kg/ha
MP 220-250 kg/ha
Gypsum 100-120 kg/ha
Zinc Sulphate 8-10 kg/ha
Magnesium Sulphate(Acidic sandy soil) 80-100 kg/ha
Boron (sandy soil) 8-10 kg/ha
Spraying of essential micronutrients such as boron, zinc, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum
etc. is done when crop is showing deficiency symptoms.

10. Fertilizer Application Method :
• Full doses of Cow dung, TSP, MP, Gypsum, Zinc Sulphate and ½
urea are applied at final land preparation.
• Rest ½ Urea should be applied after 30-35 days of sowing i.e. at
the time of 2nd earthing up.

11. Irrigation : 3 times
1) at 20-25 days of sowing.
2) at 40-45 days of sowing.
3) at 60-65 days of sowing.

12. Earthing up : At 30-35 days of sowing.
Use of Plant Growth Regulators
Soaking of potato seed tuber in CCC (Chlormequat chloride) at 500 mg/l,
sodium ascorbate at 100 mg/l, cytozyme at 5per cent, or foliar sprays with
ethephon at 400 mg/l, CCC at 25 mg/l or garlic acid at 10-100 mg/l increased
tuber yield.

13. Harvesting, Yield and Storage
After 90-110 days of sowing harvesting starts depends on variety and environmental conditions.
Harvested potatoes are heaped under shade for a couple of days, so that their skin becomes
hard and soil adhering with them is also separated out.
Over sized tubers are great in demand for chips making.
Very small sized tubers are also not remaining unsold.
These tubers are purchased by poor people for making vegetable by partially crushing them before
cooking.
However, both the over sized and under sized are quite unsuitable for seed purposes.
Potatoes can be stored in the cold storage at the temperatures of 4 to 7 o C and relative humidity.

14. Differences between indigenous potato variety (IPV) and high yielding potato variety (HYV)
IPV HYV
1. Tuber size small 1. Tuber size large
2. Production comparatively low 2. Production very high
3. Consumers preference high 3. Consumer preference comparatively low
4. Price high 4. Price low
5. Taste better 5. Comparatively less tasty
6. Production cost is low 6. Production cost high
7. Need low irrigation and fertilizer 7. Need high irrigation and fertilizer
8. Storability is very high 8. Storability less
9. Sticky in nature 9. Comparatively less sticky

15. Yield: 30-45 t/ha.
Important disease
1. Late blight 2. Early blight
3. Stem rot 4. Wilting
5. Common scab 6. Yellow mosaic
7. PVY 8. Soft rot
9. Dry rot.
Important Insects :
1. Cut Worm
2. Potato tuber moth.

16. Other technologies for Potato production
1. Tissue culture technique.
2. Rapid multiplication technique
- Sprout cutting
- Stem cutting
- Top shoot cutting
3. Potato Production without tillage.
4. Potato production with true potato seed (TPS).

17. Advantages of use of TPS in Bangladesh
• Seed rate for tuber is 1.5-2.0 t/ha which is about 25-40% of total cost of
production. On the other hand if the cultivated by TPS, seed rate is only
100-125 g/ha
• TPS can be stored at normal temperature for 10 years and upto 20 years
at 20⁰C temperature.
• Disease infestation in case of potato tuber is high. But Potato seed tuber
virus is only dangerous disease that is dissemination by TPS which is still
absent in Bangladesh
• More or less same productivity in both case

18. What will happen if the potato will sow before or after 15th November?
• Will get enough time for its vegetative growth as well as proper canopy area which increase the
photosynthesis and ultimately results higher tuber production
• But if we sow potato after 15th November, potato will get less time for its proper vegetative growth
which causes low tuber production
• On the other hand, due to late planting tuberization (tuber formation) formation occur during high
temperature and this high temperature reduces the rate of translocation of photosynthate to the tuber
and so tuberization doesn’t occur properly due to lack of photosynthate translocation
N.B: translocation means transfer of food (photosynthesis) from production area to utilization area.