Mapping Crop Water Requirement of Potato Using Real Time Estimated Evapotranspiration under Natural Farming Environment in North-Western Himalayas

Potato is a significant crop with wider prominence, supporting livelihood, food security and nutritional security to the global population. A field investigation was conducted at Zero Budget Natural Farming Farm of Department of Organic Agriculture and Natural Farming, CSK HPKV, Palampur to evaluate the effect of sowing dates and irrigation regimes on potato growth and productivity. The present field investigation consisted of 3 sowing dates (10th November, 10th December and 10th January) and 4 irrigation regimes (Limited irrigation (two), Limited irrigation (three), Penman Monteith at 60% AWC (four) and Penman Monteith at 50% AWC (five)) which were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of the present investigation revealed that sowing potato crop on 10th November resulted in the maximized plant height (40.2 cm), shoots per plant (2.88), number of tubers per plant (5.04), average tuber weight (28.19 g) and tuber yield (125.5 q/ha) for the potato crop. Similarly, irrigation schedule based on Penman Monteith at 50% AWC involving 5 irrigation was the most suitable one for enhanced plant height (41.6 cm), shoots per plant (3.52), number of tubers per plant (5.23), average tuber weight (30.01 g) and tuber yield (123.4 q/ha) for the potato crop. Therefore, sowing window of 10th November and irrigation schedule based on Penman Monteith at 50% AWC involving 5 irrigations can be recommended for the optimized tuber yield under conditions of North-Western Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh.