Effect of combined application of poultry manure and inorganic fertiliser on yield and yield components of maize intercropped with soybean

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the combined application of poultry manure and inorganic fertiliser on yield and the yield component of maize (Zea mays L) and soybean (Glycine max L. Merril) intercrops. Treatments comprised combinations of three intercropping systems (sole maize, sole soybean and maize+soybean) and four nutrient management practices [control, 100% NPK, 100% poultry manure (PM) and 50 % NPK+50% PM]. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results revealed that intercropping of maize with soybean significantly reduced soybean yield and yield components, but maize yield and yield traits were not significantly affected by intercropping. Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) was >1, indicating a beneficial effect of intercropping soybean with maize. For both maize and soybean, there were no significant differences in yield between application of 100% NPK and the 50% NPK+50% PM fertiliser. A combined application of 50% NPK and 50% PM gave the highest monetary advantage in intercropping system. It can be concluded that a 50% substitution of inorganic fertiliser with poultry manure is recommended to reduce use of chemical fertilisers without sacrificing crop yield

Effects of residual organic manure and supplemental inorganic fertilizers on performance of subsequent maize crop and soil chemical properties

Field experiments were conducted during 2014 and 2015 to evaluate the effects of residual organic fertilizers with supplemental inorganic fertilizers on performance of subsequent maize crop and soil chemical properties at Field 2, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. In the first season, the trial was conducted by using 4 nutrient management treatment (control, 100% poultry manure (PM), 100% NPK and 50% NPK + 50% PM) in 3 cropping system (sole maize, sole soybean and maize + soybean intercropping). The following trial was conducted by using the first experimental plot. After harvest of the crops in the first experiment, the biomass was left and incorporated manually into the soil before planting the subsequent maize crop. The experiment comprised of 14 treatments, 12 based on the first experiment and two additional treatments for comparison (control and 100% NPK). The treatments were laid down in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results showed that all fertilizer treatments increased growth, yield and yield components of the subsequent maize crop. However, incorporation of maize residue alone was ineffective in increasing yield of the subsequent maize crop. The combination of crop residue with residual PM enhanced soil pH, organic matter and nutrient availability in the soil. The combined application of soybean residue + 50% residual PM + 50% phosphorous and potassium (PK) fertilizer and soybean residue + 100% PK gave maize yield same level as 100% NPK. Therefore, it can be recommended that substitution of 50% inorganic fertilizer with residual PM and substitution of N fertilizer in soybean residue is recommended to increase yield of maize and improve soil chemical properties

Influance of different rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers on growth and nutrient use efficiency of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis)

The effect of N and P on nutrient concentrations, growth and vegetative traits of rubber (RRIM 2025) clone was evaluated. The treatments consisted 9 combinations of nitrogen (Urea) and phosphorus (Christmas Island Rock Phosphate – CIRP) with fixed rate of potassium (1.5 g per plant). The treatments were applied at different rates T1 (39.49 g), T2 (42.10 g), T3 (38.18 g), T4 (27.28 g) and T5 (26.10 g). The seedlings were planted in 15 cm x 30 cm filled with an Oxisol soil. Soil containing treatment (T2) significantly increased the seedlings growth like height and girth size than the remaining treatments. The results found that seedlings grown with T2 recorded higher chlorophyll content than the seedlings that were grown with T1, T4 and T5. Noticeably seedlings that was grown with T1 (39.49 g), T2 (42.10 g), and T3 (38.18 g) significantly had a higher shoot dry weight (SDW) than seedlings that were grown with T4 (27.28 g) and T5 (26.10 g). The same scenario was noticed in total dry weight (TDW) of the seedlings where T1 (68.64 g), T2 (73.30 g) and T3 (67.08) significantly recorded higher total dry weight than seedlings that were grown with T4 (50.29 g) and T5 (48.86 g). The result shows reflected a correlation between the SDW and TDW with respect to similar influence of the treatments on both the vegetative traits. Higher nitrogen content was recorded in seedlings rubber that were grown with T2 (3.57%) and significantly different from the seedlings that were grown with other treatments. The results of this study showed that higher dosage of fertilizer may not be necessary for the rubber seedlings. Application of fertilizers at the rate T2 which contains 2.0 g urea/plant and 7.5 g CIRP/plant could be considered as the optimum amount of fertilizer required for the rubber seedlings

Molecular analysis of Hsp70 mechanisms in plants and their function in response to stress

Studying the strategies of improving abiotic stress tolerance is quite imperative and research under this field will increase our understanding of response mechanisms to abiotic stress such as heat. The Hsp70 is an essential regulator of protein having the tendency to maintain internal cell stability like proper folding protein and breakdown of unfolded proteins. Hsp70 holds together protein substrates to help in movement, regulation, and prevent aggregation under physical and or chemical pressure. However, this review reports the molecular mechanism of heat shock protein 70 kDa (Hsp70) action and its structural and functional analysis, research progress on the interaction of Hsp70 with other proteins and their interaction mechanisms as well as the involvement of Hsp70 in abiotic stress responses as an adaptive defense mechanism

Yield and quality of two kenaf varieties as affected by harvesting age

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is grown either as an animal feed or as a source of fibre. In Malaysia, the variety V 36 has been planted since 2001 and currently a new variety MHC 123 is being evaluated. This experiment was conducted at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) Serdang, (latitude N 3o 17’, longitude E 101o 46’) from August to December 2012 to determine the optimum harvest age for the two varieties of kenaf for animal feed and for fibre production. The two varieties were harvested at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after planting (WAP). Mean biomass yield of MHC 123 (11.7 t ha-1) was significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to V 36 (8.7 t ha-1). The crude protein (CP) of MHC 123 decreased slowly from 18.06 to 17.22% while CP of V 36 declined rapidly from 21.72 to 11.32% between 8 and 12 WAP. Acid detergent fibre content in MHC 123 increased slowly (31.72 to 36.86%) compared to V 36 (39.57 to 55.59%) from 8 to 12 WAP. From these findings, MHC should be harvested at 12 WAP while V36 should be harvested at 8 WAP for use as forage. Tests on the fibre showed that the tensile strength for both varieties was highest at 16 WAP and both varieties should be harvested at this age for fibre production

Fermentation characteristics and nutritive value of corn silage intercropped with soybean under different crop combination ratios

Corn silage is an important feed for intensive ruminant production. Combining corn with legumes for silage is a feasible strategy to improve crude protein (CP) concentration in corn silage. This study was conducted to determine silage nutritive quality and fermentation profiles of corn grown in mixture with soybean at different crop combination ratio. In this experiment, corn-soybean combinations of 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 in addition to monocrops of corn and soybean were evaluated. The crop combination ratio had significant effects on nutritive quality and fermentation characteristics of silage. Silage quality in terms of CP (75:25 ratio 12.23%, 50:50 ratio 12.88% and 25:75 ratio 13.65%) was improved by intercropping compared with corn sole crop (9.91% CP). Increase ratio of soybean resulted in an increase in lactic acid and pH of the mixed silage. Sole soybean gave significantly higher lactic acid (3.57%) and pH of silage (4.33) compared to all other treatments but dry matter concentration was significantly higher in corn monocrop silage (34.34%) than other treatments. The propionic acid and butyric acid content of soybean monocrop and intercrops silage were in all cases higher than sole corn silage

Effect of intercropping of corn and soybean on dry matter yield and nutritive value of forage corn

Cereal-based forage production could be considered to have potential to supply great deal of energy-rich feed in animal diets. Experiment was conducted to evaluate effect of corn-soybean combinations of 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75 in addition to monocrops of corn and soybean to detremine forage dry matter (DM) yield and quality in corn-soybean intercropping. The crop combination ratio had significant effects on dry matter yield and nutritive quality of forage. The ratio of 75:25 and 50:50 recorded DM yields similar to those of monocropped corn (14.77 t/ha). Forage quality in terms of crude protein (CP) (75:25 ratio 12.75%, 50:50 ratio 13.73% and 25:75 ratio 14.68%) was improved by intercropping due to higher nitrogen availability for corn in intercropping compared with its sole crop (10.83% CP). Increase ratio of corn in corn-soybean mixture, negatively affectd neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) of forage and declined with increasing ratio of soybean plants. Combination ratio of 50:50 gave higher protein yield (1886.45 kg/ha) than other crop combination ratio. Among all the combination ratios, the 50:50 corn-soybean ratio was the optimum giving highest forage yield, protein content as well as protein yield

Growth and yield performance of five purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) accessions on colluvium soil

A study was conducted to evaluate the growth and yield performance of five purple sweet potato accessions on colluvium soil at Field 2, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor. The treatments comprised five purple sweet potato accessions (Accessions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6) arranged in completely randomized design with four replications. Maximum tuber yield of purple sweet potato was highest (p < 0.05) in Accession 6 (34,563 kg ha-1) compared to the lowest yield in Accession 3 (9,331 kg ha-1). This was followed by Accession 2 (22,031 kg ha-1), Accession 1 (21,094 kg ha-1), and Accession 5 (22,900 kg ha-1). A similar trend was observed for crop growth rate (CGR) with the highest (199 kg ha-1 day-1 ) in Accession 6 and the lowest (60 kg ha-1 day-1 ) in Accession 3 (p < 0.05). Accession 6 reached the critical leaf area index (LAIcrit) of 2.79 at 90% of intercepted radiation compared to the Accessions 1, 2, 3, and 5 that did not reach the LAIcrit. Unexpectedly, the highest total intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was recorded by Accession 3 (340 MJ m-2), whereas Accession 6 showed the lowest (309 MJ m-2). In contrast, the highest radiation use efficiency (RUE) was obtained by Accession 6 with 7.58 g MJ-1 and the lowest was Accession 3 (2.16 g MJ-1 ). However, there was no significant difference in RUE among the rest of the accessions, except for Accession 6. To maximize the tuber yield, Accession 6 is the choice for cultivation in colluvium soil

Planting density effects on feed and fibre yield of two kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) varieties in Malaysia

Background and Objective: Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) has been identified as a viable alternative crop to replace tobacco in Malaysian agriculture. Since 2001 V36 kenaf variety has long been planted and currently a new variety MHC123 is being evaluated. The study was conducted to determine the effects of planting density and harvesting age on yield and quality of MHC123 compared to V36 kenaf varieties. Methodology: The study was conducted at MARDI Serdang Selangor and planting was carried out on 4th-6th April, 2013. The treatments of planting density, harvest age and variety were arranged in a split-split plot design with 4 replications. Harvest age was set as the main plot, planting density as a sub plot and variety as a sub-sub plot. Data were analyzed using SAS software. Results: The MHC123 had higher (p<0.05) CP content (18%) at planting density of 666,700 plants haˉ¹ while V36 with 20.6% CP at planting density of 500,000 plants haˉ¹. The MHC123 and V36 varieties had lower ADF content at planting density of 666,700 plant haˉ¹ (30.7 and 30.8%, respectively) compared to the other planting densities. Planting density of 444,400 plants haˉ¹ produced the highest fibre production for MHC123 and V36 where both varieties were higher in dry matter yield, bast yield and core yield compared with other planting densities. Across both varieties, dry matter yield was highest (p<0.05) at the lowest planting density of 444,400 plants haˉ¹ at 12.7 t haˉ¹, followed by decreased dry matter yield of 11.5, 11.2 and 10.3 t haˉ¹ for planting density of 500,000, 571,500 and 666 700 plants haˉ¹, respectively. Conclusion: The MHC123 is superior to V36 variety in leaf yield, stem yield, leaf to stem ratio, leaf area index, number of days to flowering and bast yield. For kenaf forage production the suitable planting density for MHC123 variety is 666,700 plants haˉ¹

Mechanisms used by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to boost plant growth - A Review

Several decades after the green revolution, the agricultural industry depended on artificial chemical fertilisers to achieve higher crop yields. This practice, however, contributes to a hazardous impact on the farming ecosystem, causing a smaller deposit of arable land for crop cultivation and production worldwide. Since the 2000s, people, industries, and governments are aware that it is time for everyone to shift to new technology which promotes responsible land use for agriculture. One of the technologies is plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to enhance crop productivity and potentially rehabilitate soil health directly or indirectly. This review paper outlines the mechanisms used by plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria to promote plant growth. The tools could be opening up new ideas to address one of the recent and urgent world agriculture issues, food security