Effect of Plant Spacing and Varieties on Growth, Yield and Quality of Zero-Till Potato in the Coastal Ganges Delta

Increasing soil salinity, late harvest of aman rice, shorter cool weather duration, difficulties in crop establishment, shortage of fresh irrigation water and other factors contribute to low crop productivity in the coastal saline zone of Bangladesh during the Rabi season. An innovative technique for the saline regions is zero tillage potato cultivation using mulching. The low potato yield is still a disadvantage to the farmers in salty regions not using the best agronomic procedures for growing potatoes without tilling the soil. When growing zero tillage potatoes, proper spacing is crucial for both yield and quality. In order to find out the appropriate spacing at which the potato varieties should be planted in salty soil using the zero tillage technique, a field experiment was carried out in Tildanga, Dacope Upazilla, Khulna in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, following the harvest of transplanted Aman rice. The experiment was designed using a factorial randomized complete block layout with three replications. The combination effect of 25 cm x 15 cm spacing with BARI Alu 41 produced the highest emergence (98.34%), crop growth rate (20.24 g m-2 d-1) and maximum yield (20.30 t ha-1) and gave highest A size (28-40 mm) tubers (8.56 t ha-1) according to results from two years of research. The maximum BCR (2.56) were was observed in the interaction effect of 25 cm x 15 cm spacing with BARI Alu 41. Therefore, in regions with high levels of salt, the zero tillage method may be suggested using close spacing (25 cm x 15 cm) and salt tolerant variety BARI Alu 41 for a higher potato production, economic considerations and to meet farmers' demands for agriculture.