Influence of organic, inorganic and organo-mineral fertilizers on yield and quality of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the yield and quality of sweet potato under the influence inorganic fertilizer (NPK 15:15:15) at the recommended rate of 130kg/ha, organic fertilizer (Pace Setter) at the recommended rate of 3t/ha and organo-mineral fertilizer (combination of NPK 15:15:15 and Pacesetter organic fertilizer) at the rate of 1.5 t/ha. The fresh and dry weights of the samples were taken after which their proximate analyses were done to determine the levels of the quality determinants (moisture content, crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, Vitamin A and ash content) in them. At the end of the experiment, harvesting was done to determine the yield per treatments as well as the quality parameters of the leaves and tubers. It was found that organic fertilizer could increase the quantity of ether extract, crude fibre and vitamin A contents of sweet potato tubers above other fertilizer treatments though organic fertilizer competed with the control in increasing the ash and crude protein contents of sweet potato tubers. However, inorganic fertilizer increased only energy content of the tubers above organic and organo-mineral fertilizer treatments. It is, therefore, concluded that organic fertilizer should be used to increase sweet potato tuber quantity and quality.Keywords: Sweet potato, growth, yield, quality and fertilizer treatment

Enhancement of phosphorus uptake, growth and yield of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) with phosphorus fertilizers

This research was carried out to determine the best phosphorus fertilizer for improvement of sweet potato phosphorus uptake, growth and yield. The phosphorus fertilizer sources used were organic (Pacesetter), single super phosphate and crystallizer while the sweet potato variety used was Shaba. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Sweet potato plants from plots treated with crystallizer fertilizer at the rate of 500kg/ha had the highest phosphorus uptake and vegetative growth while control plots produced plants with highest tuberous yield. It is, therefore, recommended that crystallizer applied at the rate of 500kg/ha be used for significant phosphorous uptake which equally leads to better quality sweet potato tuber and appreciable vegetative growth. It is also recommended that the soil phosphorus be maintained at low level around 6.80mg/kg for achievement of high tuberous yield in sweet potato.Keywords: Vegetative growth, yield, phosphorous uptake, phosphorous fertilizer

Soil phosphorus dynamics of sweet potato-based cropping system in a rainforest region of Nigeria

To guard against soil phosphorus (P) toxicity in tuber production and have optimum tuber yield at lesser cost of P-fertilization, better understanding of the dynamics of phosphorus release in sandy loamy soil is inevitable. Therefore, this work was carried out to investigate the trend of P-release from time of application to its optimum release and its effect on sweet potato growth and tuber production. To achieve this, a 5-week incubation study under laboratory conditions was carried out to study P-release dynamics using different P sources. Similar experiment was conducted on the field using the same P sources and application rate to monitor the influence P-release rate on sweet potato production. Data on number of leaves, vine length, tuber yield, soil extractable phosphorus and phosphorus uptake of the plants were taken. Relationships between P-uptake and tuber yield, number of leaves, vine length were also established. It was found that the trend of phosphorus release was a sigmoid shape. Leaf production and vine length were improved by P-application, while yield was suppressed. It is recommended that P-fertilizer should not be applied to the soil at short intervals to avoid nutrient toxicity

Effect of soil moisture stress on growth and yield of cassava in Nigeria

Nine cassava genotypes were evaluated for their growth responses and adaptability to soil moisture stress on the field and in the screen house in Nigeria. Genotypes were evaluated in three savanna agroecologies in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Screen house evaluation was conducted using three moisture regimes of 75, 50 and 25% Field Capacity (FC) in a two-factor factorial experiment in CRD with three replicates. Morphological and yield data were collected on the field and in the screen house. Results showed significant (p < 0.05) difference among genotypes on the field and in the screen house. Field moisture stress led to a decline in plant height by 47%, stem girth by 15%, number of tubers by 95% and tuber yield by 87%. Screen house moisture condition of 25% FC led to a reduction in plant height by 12.6 and 21.2%, stem girth by 16.3 and 21.7%, number of roots by 94.5 and 88.7% and root weight by 93.3 and 94.9%, respectively at 16 and 30 WAP. Moisture stress therefore resulted into considerable reduction in both vegetative growth and yield of cassava genotypes. Therefore, a concerted effort in breeding cassava for drought tolerance is needed as cassava cultivation is expanding into nontraditional semiarid regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Germplasm introduced from Latin America (especially north-eastern Brazil) is providing a unique source of variability to further broaden the genetic base for drought tolerance in cassava