Influence of Fertilizers on Incidence and Severity of Viral and Bacterial Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) Diseases under Field Condition

Abstract

The potato production in the Far North Region, Cameroon is confronted with rarities or unevenness of rainfall, diseases and pests. In order to improve the production of this plant, a study was conducted in two villages (Mouvou and Gouria) with the general objective of evaluating the impact of fertilizers on the development of viral, bacterial and pest diseases of this plant. The experimental design used was a completely randomized block S with 4 treatments repeated 3 times each. The fertilizer treatments were: Mycorrhizae (MYC), NPK (20-10-10) chemical fertilizers, chicken droppings (CD) and a control (T) that received no application. The plant material used was a local variety of potato (Dosa). Diseases were identified, incidence, severity and rainfall were evaluated. The viral diseases identified were: Virosis M, Rust Stain and PLRV. Bacterial diseases were Bacterial Wilt and Common Scab. The highest incidences of 18.91 % and 10.44 % were obtained with Virosis M and Rust Stain in MYC treatment at Mouvou and Gouria respectively. But, in CD treatment incidence was 2.22 % and 0 % at Gouria for Virosis M and Rust stain respectively. the average rainfall was 697.75 mm. Severity was low in CD treatment in all the sites (< 20 %). All diseases were present in Gouria. The average rainfall was higher in the Gouria site 716.5mm than in Mouvou site which received 679 mm of water. The CD treatment can be recommended to the farmers of Mogodé for the phytosanitary protection of potatoes.