Interaction of nitrogen and potassium affects potato yields and nutrient use efficiency across mid-hill soils of Nepal

Interaction of nitrogen and potassium affects potato yields and nutrient use efficiency across mid-hill soils of Nepal | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Interaction of nitrogen and potassium affects potato yields and nutrient use efficiency across mid-hill soils of Nepal Reena Sharma, Keshab Raj Pande, Kalika Prasad Upadhyay, Yam Kanta Gaihre This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8272901/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Pot experiment was conducted under semi-controlled screen house in Nepal in 2022 to evaluate the effects of nitrogen, potassium, and soil texture on potato yield and nutrient use efficiency. It followed three-factorial randomized complete block design with N rates (50, 100, 150, and 200 kg N ha⁻¹), K₂O rates (30, 60, 90, and 120 kg K₂O ha⁻¹), and soil textures (silt loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand), along with an N-omission treatment. Pots contained 21.2 kg soil. The highest tuber yield (568 g pot⁻¹) was obtained with 200 kg N ha⁻¹ + 120 kg K₂O ha⁻¹, followed by 150 kg N ha⁻¹ + 120 kg K₂O ha⁻¹ (521 g pot⁻¹). Agronomic N efficiency was highest (74.4 kg tuber kg⁻¹ N) at 50 kg N ha⁻¹ + 60 kg K₂O ha⁻¹. Soil × N × K interactions were nonsignificant, indicating consistent responses across soil textures. A two-year field experiment evaluated 25 N–K combinations in the same design. The combination of 200 kg N ha⁻¹ + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻¹ produced the highest yields (26.51 and 26.40 t ha⁻¹). Agronomic N efficiency (56.86 kg tuber kg⁻¹ N) and N recovery efficiency (51.99%) were greatest at 150 kg N ha⁻¹ + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻¹. The highest benefit–cost ratio (2.1) occurred at 150–150 and 200–150 kg ha⁻¹ N–K₂O. Overall, 150 kg N ha⁻¹ + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻¹ was identified as the optimal fertilizer rate to enhance potato yield, nutrient use efficiency, and profitability in mid-hill of Nepal. potato tuber yield nitrogen potassium nutrient use efficiency N uptake K Uptake Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files graphicalabstract.png Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 10 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 09 Dec, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 03 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8272901","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":567431801,"identity":"1d869583-c9d1-4f43-a4fe-08e6a6cdf88b","order_by":0,"name":"Reena 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Nepal","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-soil","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Soil](https://link.springer.com/journal/44378)","snPcode":"44378","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44378/3","title":"Discover Soil","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"potato, tuber yield, nitrogen, potassium, nutrient use efficiency, N uptake, K Uptake","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8272901/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8272901/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePot experiment was conducted under semi-controlled screen house in Nepal in 2022 to evaluate the effects of nitrogen, potassium, and soil texture on potato yield and nutrient use efficiency. It followed three-factorial randomized complete block design with N rates (50, 100, 150, and 200 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1;), K₂O rates (30, 60, 90, and 120 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1;), and soil textures (silt loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand), along with an N-omission treatment. Pots contained 21.2 kg soil. The highest tuber yield (568 g pot⁻\u0026sup1;) was obtained with 200 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 120 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1;, followed by 150 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 120 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1; (521 g pot⁻\u0026sup1;). Agronomic N efficiency was highest (74.4 kg tuber kg⁻\u0026sup1; N) at 50 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 60 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1;. Soil \u0026times; N \u0026times; K interactions were nonsignificant, indicating consistent responses across soil textures. A two-year field experiment evaluated 25 N\u0026ndash;K combinations in the same design. The combination of 200 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1; produced the highest yields (26.51 and 26.40 t ha⁻\u0026sup1;). Agronomic N efficiency (56.86 kg tuber kg⁻\u0026sup1; N) and N recovery efficiency (51.99%) were greatest at 150 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1;. The highest benefit\u0026ndash;cost ratio (2.1) occurred at 150\u0026ndash;150 and 200\u0026ndash;150 kg ha⁻\u0026sup1; N\u0026ndash;K₂O. Overall, 150 kg N ha⁻\u0026sup1; + 150 kg K₂O ha⁻\u0026sup1; was identified as the optimal fertilizer rate to enhance potato yield, nutrient use efficiency, and profitability in mid-hill of Nepal.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Interaction of nitrogen and potassium affects potato yields and nutrient use efficiency across mid-hill soils of Nepal","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-01 04:09:46","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8272901/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-01-19T10:18:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-08T03:19:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-06T20:50:30+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"7562242943367289878504366476982984425","date":"2025-12-30T16:26:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"283160736482994565409377490867123108526","date":"2025-12-30T11:15:09+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-30T09:20:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-10T07:36:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-09T07:47:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-12-09T07:46:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Soil","date":"2025-12-03T17:34:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-soil","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Soil](https://link.springer.com/journal/44378)","snPcode":"44378","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/44378/3","title":"Discover Soil","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e464b77b-2c64-4217-89fd-94a0ed8a9ee6","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 1st, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-07T11:10:46+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-01 04:09:46","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8272901","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8272901","identity":"rs-8272901","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}