Evaluation of Potato Germplasm for Yield under the Agro Climatic Conditions of Swat Valley

Abstract

Four cultivars and 14 clones of potato of the International Center for Potato were selected as test-germplasm to assess their yield under the agro climatic condition of Swat valley, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications and a plot size of 4.2 m². The genotype CIP-39007-55 recorded the highest number of stem (4.66) plant^-1, number of tubers (10.5) plant^-1, medium tuber yield (11.67 t ha^-1), total yield (18.68 t ha^-1). The genotypes CIP-393574-6 showed the highest small tuber yield (3.93 t ha^-1) while genotype CIP-966239-131 recorded the highest large tuber yield (6.31 t ha^-1). While the genotype CIP-394074-120 showed the worst results with minimum small tuber yield (0.48 t ha^-1), medium tuber yield (0.24 t ha^-1), total yield (0.73 t ha^-1). The least number of stems (2.33) plant^-1 were recorded in cultivar Simply Red and the lowest yield of large tuber (0.36 t ha^-1) were recorded in genotype CIP-3962239-111. The lowest sprouting percentage (72%) plot^-1 were recorded in cultivar Satilite while the highest sprouting percentage (100%) plot^-1 was noted in Karoda. The study showed that the genotypes CIP-39007-55, CIP-393574-6 and CIP-966239-131 are best in respect to growth and yield among the rest of potato germplasm, and are therefore recommended for cultivation in Swat valley.

Keywords: Potato, genotypes, germplasm, Swat.