Effect of Blended Fertilizer Rates and Planting Density on Yield and Yield Components of Irish Potato (Solanum Tuberosum L.) at Gombora Condition, Hadiya Zone, Southern Ethiopia

In most parts of our country, potato is an important food and cash crop and also it has high yielding potential in Southern Ethiopia however, its production and productivity is low owing to a number of constraints. Disordered agronomic practices, like application of low rates of inorganic fertilizers and inappropriate spacing were among the major problems. The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of five rates of blended fertilizer rates (0, 100, 150, 200, and 250 kg NPS ha-1) and intrarow planting spacing of 20cm, 30cm and 40cm and laid out in a factorial arrangement by randomized complete block design replicated three times. The analysis of variance revealed that, marketable tuber yield, total tuber yield, stem number per hill, total fresh mass, underground fresh and dry mass were significantly influenced by the interaction of NPS blended fertilizer and intra-row spacing. The highest plant height (96.60cm), highest marketable tuber yield (34.29 tha-1), highest total tuber yield (38.36 t ha-1) and highest total fresh biomass (1274.2 g plant-1) were recorded from NPS rate of 250 kg NPS ha−1 and intra-row spacing of 20cm while the lowest recorded from control treatment in wider intra-row spacing (40cm. Therefore, the rate application of 250 kg NPS ha−1 and intra-row spacing of 20cm might be chosen by farmers of the study area. Furthermore, as the study was done at only one location in a single season, it is recommended to repeat the study for more than one season at different locations; even with locally available cultivar