Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria

The study, between 1999 and 2003, investigated the effect of a 3-year fallow with leguminous cover crops on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in the lowland humid forest zone of south-eastern Nigeria. The experiment was a 2 × 13 factorial in a randomized complete block design with three repl...

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Autores principales: Okpara, D.A., Ikeorgu, J.G., Njoku, J.C., Tarawali, G.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/90789
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author Okpara, D.A.
Ikeorgu, J.G.
Njoku, J.C.
Tarawali, G.
author_browse Ikeorgu, J.G.
Njoku, J.C.
Okpara, D.A.
Tarawali, G.
author_facet Okpara, D.A.
Ikeorgu, J.G.
Njoku, J.C.
Tarawali, G.
author_sort Okpara, D.A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The study, between 1999 and 2003, investigated the effect of a 3-year fallow with leguminous cover crops on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in the lowland humid forest zone of south-eastern Nigeria. The experiment was a 2 × 13 factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Treatments consisted of two sweetpotato varieties (TIS 87/0087 and TIS 8164) and 13 sources (Aeschynomene histrix. Centrosema brasilianum, Centrosema pascuorum, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Lab-lab purpureus, Mucuna deeringiana, Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna veracruz, Pueraria phaseoloides, Stylosan-thes capitata, natural fallow, and natural fallow with NPK fertilizer). Aboveground biomass at 3 months after planting was significantly higher in Mucuna veracruz than in other cover crops except Mucuna deeringiana, Mucuna pruriens, and natural fallow. At 4 years after planting, however, Aeschynomene histrix produced significantly higher biomass than the other cover crops that persisted. Mean soil nitrogen was significantly higher with Centrosema pascuorum than with other legume cover crops and natural fallows except for Ae-schynomene histrix, Mucuna veracrux, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, and Crotalaria ochroleuca. In 2002, shoot dry matter in sweetpotato variety TIS 87/0087 was higher by 37% than in variety TIS 8164 and tuber yield was higher by 68%. On average, tuber yields obtained with NPK fertilizer application were statistically similar to those obtained with Mucuna veracruz, Centrosema pascuorum, Centrosema brasilianum, and natural cover infested with Mimosa invisa but significantly lower in other cover crop fallows. There were no significant inter-actions between sweetpotato variety and the cover crops or NPK on tuber yield. The potassium content of the soil showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.508, P = 0.214) with tuber yield. The enhanced potassium content of the soil under Mucuna veracruz was therefore reflected in the tuber yield.
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spelling CGSpace907892023-02-15T06:51:58Z Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria Okpara, D.A. Ikeorgu, J.G. Njoku, J.C. Tarawali, G. cover crops fallow soil fertility sweetpotato south-eastern nigeria The study, between 1999 and 2003, investigated the effect of a 3-year fallow with leguminous cover crops on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in the lowland humid forest zone of south-eastern Nigeria. The experiment was a 2 × 13 factorial in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Treatments consisted of two sweetpotato varieties (TIS 87/0087 and TIS 8164) and 13 sources (Aeschynomene histrix. Centrosema brasilianum, Centrosema pascuorum, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, Crotalaria ochroleuca, Lab-lab purpureus, Mucuna deeringiana, Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna veracruz, Pueraria phaseoloides, Stylosan-thes capitata, natural fallow, and natural fallow with NPK fertilizer). Aboveground biomass at 3 months after planting was significantly higher in Mucuna veracruz than in other cover crops except Mucuna deeringiana, Mucuna pruriens, and natural fallow. At 4 years after planting, however, Aeschynomene histrix produced significantly higher biomass than the other cover crops that persisted. Mean soil nitrogen was significantly higher with Centrosema pascuorum than with other legume cover crops and natural fallows except for Ae-schynomene histrix, Mucuna veracrux, Chamaecrista rotundifolia, and Crotalaria ochroleuca. In 2002, shoot dry matter in sweetpotato variety TIS 87/0087 was higher by 37% than in variety TIS 8164 and tuber yield was higher by 68%. On average, tuber yields obtained with NPK fertilizer application were statistically similar to those obtained with Mucuna veracruz, Centrosema pascuorum, Centrosema brasilianum, and natural cover infested with Mimosa invisa but significantly lower in other cover crop fallows. There were no significant inter-actions between sweetpotato variety and the cover crops or NPK on tuber yield. The potassium content of the soil showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.508, P = 0.214) with tuber yield. The enhanced potassium content of the soil under Mucuna veracruz was therefore reflected in the tuber yield. 2009 2018-02-06T12:14:46Z 2018-02-06T12:14:46Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/90789 en Limited Access Okpara, D.A., Ikeorgu, J.G., Njoku, J.C. & Tarawali, G. (2009).Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria. African Journal of Root and Tuber Crops, 7(1), 47–54.
spellingShingle cover crops
fallow
soil fertility
sweetpotato
south-eastern nigeria
Okpara, D.A.
Ikeorgu, J.G.
Njoku, J.C.
Tarawali, G.
Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title_full Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title_fullStr Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title_short Effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern Nigeria
title_sort effect of threeyear fallow with herbaceous cover legumes on soil fertility and sweetpotato production in southeastern nigeria
topic cover crops
fallow
soil fertility
sweetpotato
south-eastern nigeria
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/90789
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AT njokujc effectofthreeyearfallowwithherbaceouscoverlegumesonsoilfertilityandsweetpotatoproductioninsoutheasternnigeria
AT tarawalig effectofthreeyearfallowwithherbaceouscoverlegumesonsoilfertilityandsweetpotatoproductioninsoutheasternnigeria