Abstract
Greengram productivity has been improved by application of farmyard manures in the last two decades; however, these manures are not readily available as at when needed. In some cases, they are available but in limited supply. Kolgrace bio-fertilizer, a novel commercial product of the Association of Organic Agricultural Practitioners could serve as a superior alternative to farmyard manures. Hence, a field experiment was carried out at the Teaching & Research Farm of the Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria during the 2015 cropping season to evaluate the effects of five rates (0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, and 2.00 t ha–1) of Kolgrace bio-fertilizer on the performance of greengram. The aim was to determine the optimum rate of application of this biofertilizer for greengram production. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with four replications. Data were collected on growth and yield traits, and were subjected to analysis of variance. Results showed that Kolgrace rates significantly (p < 0.01) influenced all the traits measured with exception of fresh pod yield (FPY). Plant height (112 cm), number of leaves (87), stem girth (1.43 mm) and number of flowers (10) at 8 weeks after planting (WAP) were significantly highest with the application of 0.5 t ha–1 whereas, 0.25 t ha–1 gave best results for number of pods (42) and pod yield (3.85 t ha –1). The application of 0.5 t ha–1 is, therefore, recommended if the interest of the farmer is sprout, fodder or green manure, and 0.25 t ha–1 if the interest is for seed production.
Highlights
Greengram (Vigna radiata (L) Wilczek), a member of the fabaceae family with diploid chromosome number 2n = 22 (Thulin, 1989) is relatively an unknown and underutilized leguminous pulse in Nigeria with enormous nutritional, medicinal and environmental potentials that are yet to be fully harnessed
At 8 weeks after planting (WAP), 2.0 t ha–1 gave the highest number of leaves (87.0) which was similar to 0.5 t ha–1 (82.0). These results show that leave production in greengram could be influenced largely by the amount of Compost Kolgrace pH (H2O - 1:2)
The effect of varying rates of Kolgrace bio-fertilizer was significant in all the traits measured with exception to fresh pod yield
Summary
An introduced crop in the region and a minor, it is fast gaining global recognition as an important food and cash crop It is a small, round olive-green peas with sweet flavour and good texture. It thrives in poor soils due to its ability to exist in a symbiotic association with mycorrhiza fungi (Kasiamdari et al, 2002) and specific bacteria, and can fix up to 50 kg ha–1 N (Mandal et al, 2009), making it an excellent material for soil fertility maintenance, environmental conservation, food and income security, as well as in sustainable agriculture It often requires less irrigation and nutrient elements than many other crops to produce appreciable yields (Kannaiyan, 1999)
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