EFFECT OF VARIOUS DOSES OF MINERAL FERTILIZERS ON PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY INDICATORS OF PECHORSKIY POTATO VARIETY
Potato plants intensively consume mineral nutrients from the soil and respond positively to fertilizer application. To ensure a high-quality yield with high nutrient content and nitrate concentrations that meet sanitary requirements, it is necessary to develop a mineral fertilizer application system. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mineral fertilizer doses on potato tuber yield and quality. The study was conducted from 2023 to 2025 in Komi Republic. The subject of the study was Pechorskiy variety. Field experiment scheme included the following treatments: no fertilizer (control), half, single (N48P48K48), one and a half and double doses of nitroammophoska (16:16:16). The fertilizer was applied manually by scattering before the emergence of potato plants, followed by incorporation during inter-row cultivation with a KON-2.8 cultivator-ridger to a depth of 5...7 cm. High responsiveness of potatoes to mineral fertilizers was revealed, ensuring the formation of a yield in the variant with a double dose of 35.7 t/ha with a dry matter content of 21.3%, starch - 12.7%, which exceeded the control by 17.1 t/ha, 1.8 and 1.9%, respectively. The nitrate content in tubers with an increase in fertilizer doses increased from 51.0 mg/kg in the control to 94.0 mg/kg in the variant with a double dose of NPK, but did not exceed the maximum permissible concentration (250 mg/kg). The productivity of marketable produce after storage averaged 91.0-92.8%, demonstrating the excellent shelf life of Pechorskiy potato variety, both when grown with and without high doses of mineral fertilizers. This is especially important for the northern regions of the Russian Federation, particularly Komi Republic, where tuber storage can last 8-9 months.