Growth and Yield Response of Irish Potato (Solanum Tuberosum) to Climate in Jos-South, Plateau State, Nigeria
The study investigates the response of Irish potato to some climate variables in Jos-South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. The data collected include yield of Irish potato, in tons per hectare, and climatic data for twenty years (1989-2009). These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and later on subjected to correlation and regression statistical techniques so as to determine the relationship between yield of Irish Potato and climatic elements for different phenological stages of crop growth. The results show that there is no significant variation in most of the agro-climatic data between the different years. High variations in the values of agro-climatic are only found within total rainfall, rainfall in July, May, and to some extent, rainfall in April and June. Findings on the correlation analysis show that, at sprouting to emergence/vegetative stage, maximum and minimum temperatures significantly correlate with Irish potato at 1% significance level respectively. Also, total rainfall correlates significantly with yield at tuber set/initiation stage at 5% significance level. In the same vein, minimum temperature significantly correlates with yield at tuber bulking/ripenin stage at 1% significant level. Step-wise regression analysis selected two critical elements negatively influencing the yield of Irish Potato in Jos-South. These are minimum temperature at tuber bulking/ripening stage and rainfall in July.
