IMPACT OF ORGANIC AND MINERAL FERTILISERS ON POTATO AND TOMATO YIELD IN BULGARIA

Abstract

In recent years, organic farming, or the production of organic food of plant or animal origin, has been increasingly discussed in our country. A few growers decided to reorient production on their farms. The aim of the study was to evaluate the yields of potatoes and tomatoes under organic, mineral and organic-mineral fertilisation within the framework of a multi-year vegetable crop rotation.The experiments were carried out on alluvial-meadow soil (Mollicfluvisol) in the village Tsalapitsa (42.191734 N, 24.580252 E), Plovdiv region, like every subsequent year, regardless of the crop experienced, the variants were placed on the same area. The results for the yields and the quality of production showed that there was a lack of a clear, unequivocal answer for the choice and recommendation of organic or mineral fertilisation. The highest yield of potatoes was obtained (3242 kg/da) in the variant with mixed fertilisation. The highest tomato yield was recorded in the variant with mixed fertilisation (4307.4 kg/da), and the lowest in the control (without fertilisation) – 1670.1 kg/da.The fertilisation system as a complex, dynamic mechanism is influenced by several factors. The integrated fertilisation system, i.e., the combination of mineral and organic fertilisation increases the overall efficiency, reflected in the productivity and some of the quality indicators of experimental crops, regardless of the increase in the degree of damage by insect herbivores and fungal pathogens.