Abstract:
Genetically engineered (GE) crops have the potential to contribute to agricultural
sustainability, food security, and nutritional enrichment. However, these crops
cannot be released for commercial cultivation without undergoing
environmental risk assessments (ERA), thus biosafety evaluation. ERA
assessments are performed comparatively with their natural non-GE
counterparts. As Bangladesh is progressing with GE potato research, the
present study aims to collect baseline information on non-GE potato
cultivation with an emphasis on current agronomic practices focusing on
fertilizer management and farmers’ knowledge base. The survey had three
parts, including information on the farmers, information on potato cultivation
practices, especially fertilizer use, and lastly, the farmer’s view on GE potato. From
2020 to 2021, data were collected through interviews with experienced growers
in four potato-growing regions, the Central and Mid-East, North-West, Mid-West,
and South-East regions (n = 1757) of the country. The study revealed that farmers
of all regions used more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer; for
instance, 67.1% more nitrogen fertilizer was applied as an extra dose during
potato cultivation in Munshiganj (Central and Mid-East) than in the Dinajpur
region (North-West). This overuse of nitrogen fertilizer can enhance plant vigor
but makes the plants more susceptible to insect attraction and allows pests easier
access to the plants. As a result, the excess dose of nitrogen fertilizer in
Munshiganj may act as a catalyst to increase the probability of late blight. The
findings also showed that 73.6% of farmers observed unexpected flowering in
certain potato cultivars, which corresponded to the higher application of
phosphate and potassium fertilizers aimed at late blight control. Furthermore,
this study reported infestations of Solanaceous weeds, specifically Solanum
torvum and Physalis heterophylla, in potato fields. Finally, our findings demonstrated that more than 68.7% of the potato growers intend to adopt diseaseresistant
GE potato as that may reduce the need for excess fertilizer use and thus
reduce cultivation costs.
