Optimising Potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivation by Selection of Proper Soils

Štefan Koco, Jozef Vilček, Stanislav Torma, Eva Michaeli and Vladimír Solár
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Štefan Koco: National Agriculture and Food Centre—Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, 08001 Prešov, Slovakia
Jozef Vilček: National Agriculture and Food Centre—Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, 08001 Prešov, Slovakia
Stanislav Torma: National Agriculture and Food Centre—Soil Science and Conservation Research Institute, 08001 Prešov, Slovakia
Eva Michaeli: Department of Geography and Applied Geoinformatics, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov, 08001 Prešov, Slovakia
Vladimír Solár: Department of Geography and Applied Geoinformatics, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, University of Prešov, 08001 Prešov, Slovakia

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 5, 1-10

Abstract: This paper presents an attempt to differentiate the Slovak rural landscape with respect to the possibility of effective potato cultivation and to characterise soil parameters of current potato cultivation areas with the aim to increase the sustainability of the potato production. The selection was based on soil climatic, production and economic parameters. By using the GIS tools and existing databases on soil characteristics in Slovakia, maps of soil suitability categories for potato cultivation were generated. In Slovakia, it was found that 12.3% of farmland is very suitable for potato cultivation and that as much as 43.1% is not suitable. Later, the specified categories were characterised in detail and specified with respect to geographic, soil, climatic, production and economic parameters. Currently, most potato crops are cultivated on Cambisols (27%), Chernozems (20%) and Fluvisols (18%). Loamy soils (content of particles <0.01 mm is 30–45%), soils without gravel (gravel content in the depth 0.0–0.6 m is <10%), deep soils (>0.6 m) and soil situated on plains (slope 0°–3°) are dominant in these regions. We suggest that potato cultivation should be concentrated on the most suitable areas, thereby increasing the economic profitability, improving the ecological stability of the country and supporting the sustainability of the agriculture.

Keywords: potato cultivation; soil suitability; agricultural landscape categorisation; GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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