Effects of Media Type on Growth and Yield of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Varieties Apical Rooted Cuttings in Kenya

Abstract

ABSTRACT To address soil-borne virus diseases; a soilless media has been introduced for producing healthy seed tuber based on in vitro rapid multiplication of virus-free planting material. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different media on the growth of potato variety using apical rooted cuttings. A greenhouse study was carried out where five media types; coco-peat + perlite, sand, coco-peat + pumice, coco-peat + vermiculite, and soil were tested along with three local potato varieties (Shangi, Unica and Wanjiku). The study was a 3×5 factorial arrangement laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data collected was subjected to a general linear model (GLM) to partition the variance component using SAS software version 9.0 and means separated using Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference Test (HSD) at P ≤ 0.05. The interaction between varieties and different media had a significant effect on the number of tubers per plant. Shangi registered the highest number of mini tubers per plant (21tubers) on coco-peat + perlite which was not significant different from that of coco-peat +pumice mixture (19 tubers). Plant height of 53cm was recorded under coco-peat + perlite mixture. Highest shoot fresh weight was recorded on Shangi (24.86g/plantlet) cultivated on coco-peat + pumice mixture, followed by Unica and Wanjiku (24.64 and 21.17g/plantlet respectively) cultivated on coco-peat + perlite mixture. Unica produced the highest yield (64.8g/plantlet) in coco-peat + pumice, followed by Wanjiku (59.8g/plantlet) and Shangi (40.8g/plantlet) in coco-peat + perlite. This study recommends that for farmers to overcome spread of pests and diseases, use of coco-peat + perlite and coco-peat+pumice as a soilless media should be promoted to enhanced seed potato growth and tuber formation