Response Of Three Forage Legumes To Soil Moisture Stress

Plants of Centrosema pubescens, Lablab purpureus and Stylosanthes guianensis grown sepa-rately in pots under green house conditions, were subjected to moisture stress conditions of 100, 75, 50, and 25% field capacity (FC) and the effect on plant growth characteristics assessed. Soil moisture stress significantly reduced plant height, shoot and root dry weights, particularly in Lablab and Stylosanthes. Root/shoot ratio on the other hand increased as soil moisture regime decreased. A change in moisture stress from 100 to 25 % FC reduced nodule numbers by 37, 19 and 9 % in Lablab, Stylosanthes and Centrosema respectively and decreased nitrogen fixed by 32, 9, and 0.4 % in Stylosanthes, Lablab and Centrosema respectively. The mean P content of the plants decreased with decreasing soil moisture content while, that of K increased as moisture stress increased. The overall plant performance pointed to Centrosema as a more favoured for-age plant for dry environments .Keywords: Crop productivity, legumes, food security, water use efficienc

Effect of site characteristics on the productivity and economic returns from cassava legume intercropping in Ghana

In a 2-year field study, cassava was intercropped with four legumes (cowpea, pigeon pea, soyabean and Stylosanthes at three locations with different soil and environmental conditions, to determine the effect of site characteristics on the agronomic and economic advantage of the intercrop. The trial was a factorial experiment in a split plot design with three replications. A cost benefit analysis was conducted for the trial on the different crop arrangements. Root yield of cassava in the mixed cassava legume treatment across location during the first year was significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to the stripped treatment. Root yield of cassava cowpea mixed intercrop for example ranged from 38 to 88 t/ha. In the second year however, considerable variations were observed among the treatments with NPK treatment giving the highest yield of 84 t/ha. This influenced the overall economic net benefits and showed that the intercrop advantage depended on the interaction of component crops, the growth environment and to some extent agronomic manipulations, suggesting that the best combination of crops under a particular system of management in one environment with a particular set of climate and soil conditions may not necessarily be suitable in another environment

On farm evaluation of the contribution of three green manures to maize yield in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana

Low soil fertility is one of the major factors responsible for low crop yields on small-scale farms in Africa. The use of Chromolaena odorata, Crotalaria juncea and Panicum maximum and their combination with NPK for improving soil fertility and maize yield was investigated in the semideciduous forest zone of Ghana. Each plant material was applied at two application rates, 1 and 3 t ha-1. The field design was a randomized complete block with three replications. The plant materials caused an initial immobilization of nutrients which negatively affected maize grain yield in the major season. The plant materials plus N45P30K60 however, was able to provide nutrients that were sufficient to increase maize yields by over 85% relative to the control for the two consecutive seasons. N90P60K60 application alone produced the highest grain yield of 4.65 t ha-1 in the major season but less so in the minor season. Maize grain yield was not influenced by the quantity of plant materials application but was higher during the minor season than in the major season. The results of the study provide soil fertility management options for sustainable food production in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana. Key words: Fertilizer, maize, organic residues, soil fertility

Health hazards of pesticides usage in Ghana: The case of vegetable growers in the Akumada district

No Abstract. Journal of the Ghana Science Association Vol. 1 (1) 1999: pp. 1-

Genomic heterogeneity within cowpea bradyrhizobia isolated from Ghanaian soils

No Abstract