IMPACT OF NANO-FERTILIZERS ON TUBER YIELD AND MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS OF POTATO VAR. SPIRIT IN SEMI-ARID CONDITION

In recent years, the use of nano-fertilizers has gained attention for increasing agriculturalproductivity, especially in potato cultivation. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of nano, bio,and conventional fertilizers on tuber yield and key agronomical traits of the Spirit potato variety.The experiment was performed using a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Sixnutritional treatments were tested: control, NPK, Mog biofertilizer, nano-chelated calcium (Nano-Ca), nano-chelated zinc + boron (Nano-Zn+B), and a complete nano-chelated fertilizer. An effectivebiplot approach (treatment × trait) was used to visualize interactions and assess relationships amongtreatments, traits, and their combined effects. The first and second principal components explained92% of the total variance. Among the measured traits; tuber weight per plant, leaf number per plant,mean tuber weight, total tuber yield, number of tubers per plant, days to flowering, dry mattercontent, and starch content, the complete nano-chelated fertilizer showed the highest performance.Based on the ideal treatment biplot model, this fertilizer was closest to the ideal position, performingbest across all traits. It proved to be the most effective treatment for maximizing tuber yield,followed by NPK, Nano-Zn+B, and Nano-Ca treatments. This study highlights the potential ofnano-fertilizers as an efficient and environmentally friendly approach to improving potato yield insemi-arid regions. The results suggest that using complete nano-fertilizers can significantly enhanceagricultural practices in such areas, leading to higher yields and more efficient resource use.