Exploring the Potential for Sustainable Potatoes as a Crop for Northern Ghana

Abstract— The Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) belongs to the solanaceae family of flowering plants. It is a staple food in many parts of the world and an integral part of much of the world’s food supply. The Irish potato is a critical crop in terms of food security in the face of population growth and increased hunger rates. Despite the potential for the potato as an important food and income security crop, very little effort has been made in Ghana to adopt and integrate it into the food production system. It is against this backdrop, that this study was designed to investigate the potential for introducing Irish potatoes as a new crop for Ghana. In this study, certified seed of three Irish potato varieties (Maris Peer, Mayan Rose and Nadine) was imported from Scotland (UK) and planted in July under rainfed conditions. The study was implemented in a four-block randomized complete block design in three replicate sites in the northern region (Nebilyili, Yapalsi and Wulensi). The planting was done on both ridges and on flat land. The crops were monitored till harvesting. Generally, the yield was poor, with a maximum of 3.1MT/ha. Among the varieties, Nadine performed better than Mayan Rose and Maris Peer, although there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between varieties. Among the three sites that were used for the trial, there was significant difference (P < 0.05) between Wulensi and the other two sites with the Wulensi site performing better. There was also no significant difference in yield between potato planted on ridges and those planted on flat land. Fungal species belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium were isolated from the healthy and rotten Irish potato tubers. Also, fungal species belonging to Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium and Trichoderma were isolated from the root system of the Irish potato crops. Based on the findings, we conclude that, Irish Potato can be grown as a food crop in Ghana, if the necessary agronomic conditions are provided.