Abstract
Planting of kenaf usually commences from March - April as these months mark the onset of the rainy season in Nigeria. On the contrary, it is now difficult for anyone to predict when rain start due to climatic variation. Hence, field experiments was conducted between 2015 and 2016 to determine the appropriate time of sowing kenaf that will optimize its yield potential in South Western Nigeria. As a result of delay in the commencement of rain, planting did not start until May. Hence, kenaf seeds were sown in May, June, July and August at 30 days interval in each year. The experiment was a 4 × 2 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design and replicated three times. The result indicated that the highest fibre yield (1.00 t/ha) was from the kenaf sown in June irrespective of the year, but not significantly different from the one sown in July (0.98 t/ha). On the other hand, kenaf sown in July had the highest seed yield (2.28 t/ha) with the lowest seed yield (1.04 t/ha) obtained in May followed by August (1.19 t/ha). The experiment conclusively affirm June for sowing of kenaf for fibre cultivation and July for seed production.
 Keywords: Planting date, kenaf, fibre and seed yield
Highlights
Cultivation of Kenaf (Hibiscuss cannabinus L), is receiving increased attention as a source of paper pulp
Lam et al (2003), observed that kenaf fixes about twice the amount of carbon dioxide when compared to forest plantation thereby contributing to alleviation of global warming
The objective of this study was to determine the appropriate time of sowing kenaf for optimum yield in Ibadan south western Nigeria
Summary
Cultivation of Kenaf (Hibiscuss cannabinus L), is receiving increased attention as a source of paper pulp. Kenaf is a member of the Malvaceae family, native to Africa (Ogunniyan, 2016) It is a multipurpose annual herbaceous plant cultivated for its bast fibre (Danalatos and Archontoulis, 2004). Lam et al (2003), observed that kenaf fixes about twice the amount of carbon dioxide when compared to forest plantation thereby contributing to alleviation of global warming It is a short - day photoperiodic fibre plant which grows fast and well adapted for pulp production (Manzanares et al, 1997). The short-day flowering characteristic is advantageous, because plants will remain vegetative during the growing season and will produce maximum yields.
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