Abstract
Two field studies were carried out using Solanum macrocarpon and Solanum scabrum to investigate the effects of planting methods and seed density required for optimum biomass yield and nutrient content in southwest Nigeria. Two planting methods (drilling and broadcasting), and two seed densities (4 and 8 table spoon full) were investigated as a 2×2×3 factorial experiment in randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Four seed spoons gave 25.78 kg seeds ha-1 for S. macrocarpon and 20.67 kg·seeds·ha-1 for S. scabrum. Significant highest S. macrocarpon shoots (2.75 kg·m-2) and Ca, K, Fe and Zn contents and S. scabrum (2.95 kg·m-2) and Zn content, were obtained with drilling and four spoons of seeds compared with broadcasting and 8 spoons of seeds. This treatment gave average values for N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ca/P and Na/K ratio were 2.79%, 0.03%, 3.37%, 1.64%, 0.02%, 300 mg·kg-1, 100 mg·kg-1, 300 mg·kg-1, 8 mg·kg-1, 1.22 and 0.008 for S. macrocarpon and 2.05%, 0.27%, 5.81%, 3.27%, 2.91%, 0.09%, 280 mg·kg-1, 52.99 mg·kg-1, 359.35 mg·kg-1 and 22.42 mg·kg-1, 11.63 and 0.016 for S. scabrum. It was concluded that planting in drilling made weeding, fertilizer application, irrigation and harvesting more effective rather than by broadcasting, and four spoons of seeds per 9 m-2 produced deep green and broader leaves and balanced nutrient contents than eight spoons of seeds.
Highlights
Minimum daily intake of 400 g of fruits and vegetables has been recommended for good health and general well being [1]
Results of our study showed that the levels of nutrients in S. scabrum and S. macrocarpon fell within sufficiency levels for optimal growth and are less than the toxicity levels
The results of our study showed that S. macrocarpon and S. scabrum contained less sodium than A
Summary
Minimum daily intake of 400 g of fruits and vegetables has been recommended for good health and general well being [1]. Raw fruits are used to treat stomach ulcers when chewed and swallowed [3] They are cooked as soups with or without melon and other ingredients. Helping women improve the productivity of more nutritious, high-value products such as vegetables will increases family income and promotes ground-level nutrition by increasing the amount of healthy food available for home consumption. This crop diversification provides variety for primarily rice-based diets, which inherently lack the availability of primary, secondary and micronutrients necessary for human health [5]
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