The formulation from this invention was employed as a plant booster and mineral fertilizer in the production of potatoes.
Two treatments with 1% aqueous Suspension of the product at an amount of 1.5 kg/ha were carried out. The following potato varieties were tested: Ostara, Agatha, Charlotte, and Noirmoutier. The obtained crop yields were increased by 14%(Ostara), 3% (Agatha), 6.5% (Charlotte), and 21% (Noirmoutier). Furthermore, the percentage of potatoes suitable for the market (fraction of tubers with a diameter of 30-55 mm) reached 85%. The monosaccharide content in potato tubers was decreased which has a huge impact on the quality of the final product, e.g. Chips. The general observation was that the treated potato looks very healthy.
The final conclusions on the use of micronized natural calcite minerals in the production of potatoes are:
a) increased photosynthetic activity of the plant increases the crop yield,
b) positive indirect effect on fungi diseases and general reinforcement of plants,
c) effect on quality: Increased dry matter and decreased content of monosaccharides which are unwanted for further processing of potato (darkening because of Maillard reaction),
d) increasing hardiness of leaves and cell walls thanks to the treatment with calcite,
e) at all parcels there was a significantly increased percentage of tubers acceptable for the market (27 to 33%).
