Submit Manuscript

Asian Journal of Crop Science

Year: 2011 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 3 | Page No.: 130-140
Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit Linkedin StumbleUpon E-mail

Article Trend

Total views 89

Authors

H.M.B. Bala

V.B. Ogunlela

N.C. Kuchinda

B. Tanimu

Keywords

Research Article

Response of Two Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Varieties to Sowing Date and NPK Fertilizer Rate in a Semi-Arid Environment: Yield and Yield Attributes

H.M.B. Bala, V.B. Ogunlela, N.C. Kuchinda and B. Tanimu
In order to determine the optimum sowing date and NPK fertilizer rate for two groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) varieties for best yield performance and to improve their production, field trials were conducted during the 2004 and 2005 cropping seasons at Samaru, Nigeria. The treatments were composed of factorial combinations of three sowing dates (mid-June, end-June and mid-July), three NPK fertilizer rates (10 kg N+13 kg P+13 kg K ha-1, 20 kg N+26 kg P+26 kg K ha-1 and 30 kg N+39 kg P+39 kg K ha-1) and two varieties (SAMNUT-22 and SAMNUT-23). Fertilizer rates x sowing dates constituted the main plot while varieties were assigned to the sub-plot as the experiment was laid out in split-plot design with four replications. Delaying of groundnut sowing till mid-July caused a 27.3% decline in number of pods per plant. When sowing was delayed until end of June or mid-July, pod, seed and haulm yields declined 44.9, 45.2 and 23.5%, respectively relative to sowing in mid-June. However, parameters such as number of pods per plant, pod yield and seed yield were not influenced significantly by fertilizer rate. Variety SAMNUT-23 produced significantly more pods per plant and higher pod, seed and haulm yields than SAMNUT-22. Significant interactions were observed between the treatment factors for most yield attributes. In most cases variety was a function in the response of the parameters to treatments. It was found that when SAMNUT-23 was sown in mid-June it significantly out-performed SAMNUT-22. We conclude that early sowing enhanced positive response of pod yield to NPK fertilizer application while the optimum sowing date for good yield performance in both varieties is mid-June.
PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

Related Articles

Yielding Components of Canola Response to NPK Nutrition
Evaluation of Different Varieties, Seed Rates and Row Spacing of Groundnut, Planted under Agro-Ecological Conditions of Malakand Division
Effects of Haulm Cutting Time on Haulm and Pod Yield of Peanut
Response of Sorghum to Nitrogen Fertilizer and Plant Density in the Guinea Savanna Zone
Effect of NPK Fertilizer Rates and Method of Application on Growth and Yield of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) at Ado-Ekiti Southwestern, Nigeria

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *