ABSTRACT
Improving potato cultivation practices: an overview Vijay Kumar Dua, Sanjay Rawal, Sukhwinder Singh and Jagdev Sharma, ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, India
1 Introduction
2 Potato cultivation in India
3 Soil management
4 Seed bed preparation and planting
5 Cultivation
6 Nutrient management: green manures and cover crops
7 Irrigation
8 Mechanisation
9 Conservation agriculture
10 Conclusion
11 Where to look for further information
12 References
There have been significant advances in potato research and development in India. As a result, potato productivity has increased by over 3-fold, production by almost 30-fold and acreage by over 8-fold over the past six decades (Anon., 2013). The Indo-Gangetic plains of India are a major contributor to this success story with more than 75% of the total land used in potato cultivation (Vanitha et al., 2013). The states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh account for more than 87% of total production. At the level of global production, China, India, Russian Federation, Ukraine, the United States, Germany and Poland contributed to more than 62% of total global potato production in 2015 (Anon., 2016). However, in India, productivity is lower compared to many European nations such as the Netherlands.
