Effectiveness of nitrogen fertilization and application of microbial preparations in potato cultivation

This study examined the effectiveness of nitrogen fertilization and application of microbiological preparations in potato cultivation. The experiment factors were doses of nitrogen of 0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha^–1 and microbial preparations of BactoFil B10, Effective Microorganisms EM, and UGmax. The amount of inorganic N in the 0–0.9 m soil layer before potato planting fluctuated from 63.5 to 80.4 kg N ha^–1, while after harvest it ranged from 44.4 to 119.7 kg N ha^–1. Nitrogen supply from mineralization during potato vegetation ranged from 36.1 to 46.3 kg N ha^–1. Each of the applied nitrogen doses caused a marked increase in potato-plant productivity in comparison with a smaller dose. Growing nitrogen doses decreased the value of the fertilization effectiveness index. Application of microbial preparations led to an increase in soil nitrogen content after plant harvesting and a lower uptake of N, diminishing the indices of NUE, NUpE, NAE, and NRF.