THE STUDY OF SOME POTATO CULTIVARS (Solanum tuberosum L.) IN NORTH MACEDONIA

Potatoes in North Macedonia are cultivated in an area of 13,000 ha. Its cultivation extends to plain, hilly, sub-mountainous, and mountainous areas. Cultivation technology is adapted according to the areas and soils. Cultivars that are planted in North Macedonia are imported from Holland, France, and Germany. They are tested and the most suitable cultivars are selected according to the areas. After spending several years in cultivation, they reduce the yield and replace it with a newly created cultivar and enter production gradually and step by step after a good agronomic review, testing, and adapting the cultivation technology according to the soil areas. The comparative study of cultivars is the first step to determining the most suitable cultivar according to soil areas. Twelve cultivars that were planted in the Polog region were included in the study. The sowing was done according to the randomized block scheme with twelve variants in four replications. The sowing was done on the same day and the same cultivation technology was applied. During the vegetation period, biometric measurements were made according to the methodology, and the data were processed to derive the average values of yield data and other biometric indicators. Starch analysis was done on all cultivars.