Irish potatoes are an important field crop grown for food. Successful Irish potato production is often hindered by lack of fertilizer application and poor choice of Potato planting varieties and hence low yield. The purpose of the study was to assess potato growth and yield response to application of potassium chlorid( muriate of potash) in Milimani Location, Saboti Sub-county,Trans Nzoia county. A randomized complete block design experiment with three replicates was conducted. Growth and yield data collected was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and means separated by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at p<0.05 Significance level using SAS software. It was found out that there was significant difference in yield and yield attributes. However there were no significant differences in mean yield between the two sites of production. Fertilizer rates differed significantly. It was recommended that the fertilizer industry should change fertilizer formulation; establish fertilizer blending plants and the ministry of agriculture to establish a fertilizer advisory service for farmers to boost harvest and incomes and that the fertilizer rate of 250kg/ha be applied and Sherekea variety be variety of choice for Milimani Location, Saboti Sub-county, Trans Nzoia County.
Abay, A., and Sheleme, B. (2011) The Influence of Potassium Fertilizer on the Production of Potato (Solanum tuberosumL.) at Kembata in Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare, 1, 1-12.
Abd El-Latif, K. M., Osman, E. A. M., Abdullah, R., and Kader, A. N. (2011) Response of Potato Plants to Potassium
Abong, G. O., Okoth, M. W., Imungi, J. K., and Kabira, J. N. (2010) Evaluation of Selected Kenyan Potato Cultivars forProcessing into Potato Crisps. Agriculture and Biology Journal of North America, 1, 886-893.
Abubaker, S., Rayyan, A., Amre, A., Alzu’bil, Y., and Hadidi, N. (2011) Impact of Cultivar and Growing Season on Potato under Center Pivot Irrigation System. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 7, 718-721.
Adhikary, B. H., and Karki, K. B. (2006) Effect of Potassium on Potato Tuber Production in Acid Soils of Malepatan,Pokhara. Nepal Agriculture Research Journal, 7, 42-48.
Ali, M. R., Costa, D. J., Abedin, M. J., Sayed, M. A., and Basak, N. C. (2009) Effect of Fertilizer and Variety on the Yield of Sweet Potato. Bangladesh Journal of Agricultural Research, 34, 473-480.
Al-Moshileh, A. M., and Errebi, M. A. (2004) Effect of Various Potassium Sulfate Rates on Growth, Yield and Qualityof Potato Grown under Sandy Soil and Arid Conditions. IPI Regional Workshop on Potassium and Fertigation Development in West Asia and North Africa, Rabat, 24-28 November 2004. and Rural Development, 3, 296-310.
Asmaa, R. M., and Magda, M. H. (2010) Increasing Productivity of Potato Plants by Using Potassium Fertilizer and
Bansal, S. K., and Trehan, S. P. (2011) Effect of Potassium on Yield and Processing Quality Attributes of Potato. Karnataka Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 24, 48-54.
Bergmann, W. (1992) Nutritional Disorders of Plants Development, Visual and Analytic Diagnosis. Gustav Fischer, Jena.
Biniam, M. G., Githiri, S. M., Tadesse, M., and Remmy, W. K. (2014) Diagnostic Survey on
Potato Production Practicesin Eritrea. ARPN Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science, 9, 444-453
Biniam, M. G., Githiri, S. M., Tadesse, M., and Remmy, W. K. (2014b) Potato Seed Supply, Marketing and Production Constraints in Eritrea. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5, 3684-3693. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2014.524384
Biniam, M. G., Githiri, S. M., Tadesse, M., and Remmy, W. K. (2016) Morphological Diversity of Farmers’ and Improved Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Cultivars Growing in Eritrea. Journal of Plant Studies, 5, 63-71.
Blakemore, M. (1966). Seasonal changes in the amounts of phosphorus and potassium dissolved from soils by dilute calcium chloride solutions. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 66:139–146. 05–812
Brady, N. C., and Weil, R. R. (2002) The Nature and Properties of Soil. 13th Edition, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
Bray, R. H. (1944). Soil-plant relations I. The quantitative relation of exchangeable potassium to crop yields and to crop response to potash additions. Soil Science 58:305–324.
Dampney, P., Wale, S., and Sinclair, A. (2011) Review Potash Requirements of Potatoes. Report of Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board 2011.
Enujeke, E. C. (2013) Effects of Variety and Spacing on Growth Characters of Hybrid Maize. Asian Journal of Agriculture
FAO. (2008) Production Year Book. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
FAO. (2009) Potato and Food Price Inflation. International Year of the Potato 2008. Food and Agriculture Organization Fertilizer Rates and Soil Moisture Deficit. Advances in Applied Science Research, 2, 388- 397.
Gildemacher, P. R. (2012) Innovation in Seed Potato Systems in Eastern Africa. PhD Thesis, Wageningen University,
Gunasena, H. P. M., and Harris, P. M. (1971) The Effect of CCC, Nitrogen and Potassium on Growth and Yield on Two Varieties of Potato. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 76, 33-52.
Haile, W. (2009) On Farm Verification of Potassium Fertilize Effect on the Yield of Irish Potato
In-Text Citation: (Ngomat & Mworia, 2017)
To Cite this Article: Ngomat, M. S., & Mworia, M. (2017). Evaluation of the Effects of Potassium Fertilizer on Potato Growth and Yield in Saboti Sub County, Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. International Journal of Acdemic Research in Enviornment & Geography, 4(1), 48–57.
Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s)
Published by Knowledge Words Publications (www.kwpublications.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
