Effect of planting method and spacing on the growth parameters of three Bambara groundnut cultivars in two Agro-climatic zones of Sierra Leone

Abstract

Field trials were conducted in two agro-climatic zones of the country (Lungi and Kabala) to evaluate the effect of planting methods and inter-row spacing on the growth parameters of three Bambara groundnut cultivars. The experiment consisted of a factorial 18 treatment combinations of two planting methods (mound and flat), three inter-row spacing (50 cm x 10 cm, 50 cm x 15 cm, and 50 cm x 20 cm), and three Bambara groundnut cultivars (Lubam1, Lubam 2, and Kabam 1). The study shows that planting Bambara groundnut using mounds produced higher values of the assessed growth parameters compared to planting Bambara groundnut on flat land. The result further shows that the wider inter-row spacing (50 cm x 20 cm) on average recorded the highest value for all the assessed growth parameters. Furthermore, Kabam1 was observed to have recorded the highest value for all the growth parameters in both locations. Thus, for optimum growth parameters to be achieved, it is recommended that Kabam1 should be planted on mound using the inter-row spacing of 50 cm x 20cm.