Effects of earthworm casts on crop production

Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of earthworm casts on the production of maize and cowpea. In pot experiments with mixtures of soil and casts, shoot and root dry matter (OM) of maize and cowpea increased with increasing proportion of casts. Shoot OM of cowpea and r...

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Main Authors: Asawalam, D.O., Hauser, S.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2001
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103671
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author Asawalam, D.O.
Hauser, S.
author_browse Asawalam, D.O.
Hauser, S.
author_facet Asawalam, D.O.
Hauser, S.
author_sort Asawalam, D.O.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of earthworm casts on the production of maize and cowpea. In pot experiments with mixtures of soil and casts, shoot and root dry matter (OM) of maize and cowpea increased with increasing proportion of casts. Shoot OM of cowpea and root OM of maize increased significantly when worm casts were applied to the soil surface but not when the casts were mixed with the soil. Under field conditions, maize grain yield increased by 73%, 114%, and 180% over the control (without worm casts) when 50 t ha-1, 100 t ha-1, and 150 t ha-1 of casts were applied, respectively. At the 150 t ha-1 rate, a significantly higher maize grain yield was maintained over two cropping seasons. The study demonstrated that earthworm casts are an important resource that can be harnessed for increased crop production.
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spelling CGSpace1036712023-06-13T05:01:28Z Effects of earthworm casts on crop production Asawalam, D.O. Hauser, S. earthworms maize cowpeas crop yield nigeria crop production Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of earthworm casts on the production of maize and cowpea. In pot experiments with mixtures of soil and casts, shoot and root dry matter (OM) of maize and cowpea increased with increasing proportion of casts. Shoot OM of cowpea and root OM of maize increased significantly when worm casts were applied to the soil surface but not when the casts were mixed with the soil. Under field conditions, maize grain yield increased by 73%, 114%, and 180% over the control (without worm casts) when 50 t ha-1, 100 t ha-1, and 150 t ha-1 of casts were applied, respectively. At the 150 t ha-1 rate, a significantly higher maize grain yield was maintained over two cropping seasons. The study demonstrated that earthworm casts are an important resource that can be harnessed for increased crop production. 2001-04 2019-09-17T16:29:37Z 2019-09-17T16:29:37Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103671 en Limited Access Asawalam, D.O. & Hauser, S. (2001). Effects of earthworm casts on crop production. Tropical Agriculture, 78(2), 76-81.
spellingShingle earthworms
maize
cowpeas
crop yield
nigeria
crop production
Asawalam, D.O.
Hauser, S.
Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title_full Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title_fullStr Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title_full_unstemmed Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title_short Effects of earthworm casts on crop production
title_sort effects of earthworm casts on crop production
topic earthworms
maize
cowpeas
crop yield
nigeria
crop production
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/103671
work_keys_str_mv AT asawalamdo effectsofearthwormcastsoncropproduction
AT hausers effectsofearthwormcastsoncropproduction