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The impact of digestate fertilisation on the structure of yield and selected qualitative indicators of potatoes.
Polák, Miloslav ; Hamouz, Karel (advisor) ; Pavel, Pavel (referee)
The thesis studies the effect of digestate fertilisers on the structure of yield, starch content and scab of potato tubers. The introduction outlines the problems of potato fertilisation, including the existing knowledge on the fertilisation by digestate. The subsequent, experimental part was executed in the form of a field experiment in SENAGRO Senožaty a.s. This enterprise produces table potatoes for TESCO chain of supermarkets. The company was interested in using the waste material (digestate) from biogas station as efficiently as possible and tried to use it as a dose of nitrogen under potatoes. The company uses the technology of destoning with a line width of 90 cm.
The experiment was carried out in such a way to enable to determine the effectiveness of digestate as a substitute for the usual N fertiliser for potatoes. It was based on three variants: Variant A. Ammonium sulphate applied areally before destoning and 15-15-15 local application of NPK fertiliser (in total dose of 100 kg N/ha). Variant B. Ammonium sulphate + NPK + DAM 390 applied during vegetation on 27th May 2015 (in total dose of 120 kg N/ha). Variant C. Digestate in quantity of 120 kg N/ha. Early to midseason Luciana variety was used in the experiment.
In compliance with the methodology, before the harvest I dag away the bushes to find out the level of yielding elements. I took samples that were evaluated in terms of starch content in Vesa Velhartice, and personally examined the scab of potato tubers. On the basis of statistical evaluation of the examined variants (executed at the Department of Crop Production), I reached the following findings:
Compared to the usual variants of N fertilisation, digestate fertilisation of potatoes did not have any statistically significant effect on the weight of tubers under one bush or the weight of table potatoes. Compared to the control variants of N fertilisation, digestate fertilisation did not influence verifiably the total number of tubers per one bush or the number of table potatoes per one bush. In terms of the effect on the average weight of one potato, the variant
with the application of digestate fully equalled, or even exceeded, the experimental variants of mineral N fertilisation. It is therefore possible to say that in terms of yield, this type of fertilisation can serve as a substitute of fertilisation by nitrate and mineral fertilisers. Starch content and scab of potato tubers were not demonstrably influenced by digestate fertilising compared to traditional N fertilisation.
In conclusion, I would like to point out that the experiment has been carried out only for one year and its results cannot be generalised yet. That is why I recommend to continue in the experiment also in the future years.
In my opinion, digestate and the problem with its application is becoming an increasingly pressing theme. If experiments carried out for several years prove that the result of its application is positive to potatoes, digestate, in my opinion, will again have broader possibilities of use and we can count with it as a full-value fertiliser also in the future.
Keywords: potatoes, digestate, starch content, scab, yield
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