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REGULAR ARTICLE
Manure placement method influenced growth, phenology and bunch yield of three Musa genotypes in a humid zone of Southern Nigeria
K. P. Baiyeri, O. O. Ndukwe, A. Tenkouano
Commun. Biometry Crop Sci. (2013) 8 (1), 1-9.
ABSTRACT
Manure placement methods earlier evaluated in a greenhouse using the banana cultivar PITA 14 as a test-crop significantly influenced root system development, vegetative growth, nutrient uptake, whole-plant dry matter yield and distribution of the crop. These placement methods plus an additional treatment were re-evaluated in a field experiment over two cropping cycles using three Musa genotypes. The treatments were: a full dose of poultry manure placed on the soil surface – top dressing (T1), a full dose of poultry manure applied as a base placement prior to planting – bottom dressing (T2), a split combination of T1 and T2 – half the dose of manure placed as a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing (T3), inorganic fertilizer (T4) and no fertilizer (T5) as a control. Results revealed that the main effect of genotype was significant (P < 0.05) for growth, phenology and bunch yield components. Cultivar PITA 23 was the tallest. However, PITA 14 produced more and healthier green leaves. The genotype, PITA 14 flowered earliest in the planting year crop but fruits of BITA 3 matured earliest. In the planting year crop, PITA 14 produced bigger fruits and heavier bunches. However, in the ratoon crop, BITA 3 supported the highest number of hands per bunch and longer and wider fruits; this genotype also produced the heaviest fruits and bunches. Growth parameters at flowering indicated that T3 supported more green leaves and gave about 9 %, 9 %, 20 % and 33 % more leaves than T1, T2, T4 and T5 respectively, particularly in the ratoon crop. When T3 was compared with T5 there was a reduced number of days to flowering and fruit maturation by about 49 and 44 days, respectively. Split application of manure as half a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing (i.e. T3) supported production of the heaviest fruits (208.1 g) and bunches (37.3 t ha-1), especially in the ratoon crop. Therefore, placing half the dose of manure as a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing is recommended for sustainable plantain production in the high rainfall region of southern Nigeria.
Key Words: Musa genotypes; poultry manure; placement; growth; bunch yield.
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