2015/08/20 by Z. Biruk-Masrie, R Nigussie-Dechassa, Z. BIRUK-MASRIE +7
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Potato Plant Research
paper · doi:10.20372/nadre:9490
openalex publication_date 2015/08/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/01
Farmers in most developing countries store seed potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers in traditional storage that<br> invariably leads to rapid deterioration in the quality of the seed tubers due to sprouting and aging. Thus, potato<br> seed tubers senesce and are past their prime when planted. A pot experiment was conducted at Sirinka Agricultural<br> Research Centre, in north-eastern Ethiopia, to evaluate the effect of treating seed potato tubers with crude plant<br> essential oil extracts, on the growth and yield of the potato crop. Treatments consisted of seed potato tubers<br> treated with dill weed, spearmint, black cumin and eucalyptus crude essential oil extracts, each applied at 45, 90<br> and 135 mg kg-1 of potato tubers for one month, plus a control treatment. The control consisted of untreated<br> tubers. Results revealed that potato plants grown from seed tubers treated with oil extracts from dill weed,<br> spearmint, and eucalyptus at 135 mg kg-1, took the longest time to sprout, flower, and tubers to mature. Potato<br> plants grown from seed tubers treated with dill weed, spearmint, black cumin and eucalyptus crude essential oil<br> extracts at 135 mg kg-1 were 23 - 38% taller than plants from the untreated seed tubers. Similarly, potatoes from<br> these treatments had 21 - 89% more numbers of leaves compared to plants from the untreated seed tubers. Crude<br> essential oils from dill weed at the concentrations of 90 and 135 mg kg-1 and eucalyptus at 135 mg kg-1, had the<br> greatest positive effects on growth and yield of the potato crop.