Growth of Potato Plants of the ‘Asterix’ Cultivar and Accumulation of Nutrients

The objective of this research work was to quantify both the development of potato plants of the ‘Asterix’ cultivar and the accumulation of nutrients by the plants. The experiment was carried out at Perdizes, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in a randomized complete block design with seven treatments (sampling moments) and three replications. The spatial arrangement of the plants in the field was of 0.80 m between rows and 0.35 m between plants in the row. Plant samples were taken 30, 42, 54, 66, 78, 90, and 114 days after planting (DAP) for the determinations of plant dry matter and accumulated nutrients. The potato plant was slow to grow up to 42 DAP and the highest rate of dry matter accumulation was observed between 51 and 90 DAP. Plant cycle was of 97 days and total productivity of 44 t ha-1. Total macro nutrients accumulated by the plants up to 90 DAP were of 369.3, 184.0, 42.7, 18.0, 16.2, and 13.8 kg ha-1 of K, N, Ca, P, Mg, and S, respectively. The micronutrients Fe, Mn, Zn, B, and Cu were found to have reached values of 1,225, 525, 439, 164, and 96 g ha-1, respectively.