Sartaj Ali

Physico-chemical, functional and processing attributes of some potato varieties grown in Pakistan

A study was generated from six commercial potato varieties and studied for their physical, chemical, functional and processing attributes. Lady Rosetta followed by Hermes was the most appreciable varieties concerning their physical attributes. A positive correlation (R = 0.765) existed between tuber firmness and specific gravity. Lady Rosetta and Atlantic attained maximum dry matter and starch contents. Agria contained lesser amount of sugar and Desi contained maximum fat and fiber contents. Highly significant correlation was estimated between dry matter and starch contents (R = 0.967). Hermes and Agria were preferred over all other varieties for their mineral contents, but its functional attributes were found maximum in Desi followed by Hermes. A promising correlation was reported between most of these functional parameters with distinctive correlation between total phenolic contents and radical scavenging activity (R = 0.903). Post processing parameters in Lady Rosetta indicated its preference over all other varieties followed by Hermes and Atlantic. Key words : Potato varieties, physico-chemical, functional attributes, processing.

SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF SOIL MICRONUTRIENTS (Cu, Fe, Zn & Mn) AND POPULATION DYNAMIC OF MYCOFLORA IN POTATO FIELDS OF CKNP REGION GILGIT-BALTISTAN PAKISTAN

Soil plays a key role for sustainable crop production and food security. Fertility of soil is intrinsic ability of a soil to supply micro-macro nutrients in sufficient amounts for getting maximum crop production (Von, 1988). Soil nutritional status is key indicators of soil quality (Jansen et al., 1995). Soil fertility influence by land use and management practices and its quality varies either spatially or temporally from field to field or on regional scale (Sun et al., 2003). Regardless of the spatial and temporal changes of soil properties in small and large scales, awareness of how these changes occur for increasing profitability and sustainable agriculture management is necessary (Ayoubia et al., 2007). Determining soil variability is important for ecological modeling, environmental predictions, precise agriculture and management of natural resources (Hangsheng et al., 2005). Farmers all over the world normally take care of macronutrients rather than micronutrient application in the soils, thereby resulting increased deficiencies of micronutrients. On the other hand, micronutrients have an important role in balanced plant nutrition for the stabilization of crop yield of an area (Rattan and Sharma, 2004). Soil micronutrient is equally important as the macro nutrient for crop growth, and often they are present in small quantities in the soil. Deficiency of micronutrients can lead to severe depression in crop growth, yield, and crop quality. Its availability in soil is depending on the parent material and pedogenic process (White and Zasoski, 1999). In the present era of precision farming, the inputs such as fertilizer, crop varieties and management practices are matched precisely with the variability in soil and climatic conditions so that inputs are applied as per the location specific requirements of the crop. Further, the monitoring of the same sites has remained a major problem due to absence of geo coded location of the sampling sites. The advent of information technology have provided tools like Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographical Information System (GIS) which helps in collecting a systematic set of geo referenced samples and generating the spatial data about the distribution of nutrients (Sharma, 2007). The maps generated through remote sensing helps in Pak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 53(3), 541-550; 2016 ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906 DOI:10.21162/PAKJAS/16.2057 http://www.pakjas.com.pk