Efficacy of intra-row spacing on the growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogea (L.)) cultivars on the Jos Plateau Nigeria

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the Federal College of Forestry Demonstration Farm in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria during the 2018 and 2019 growing seasons to determine the efficacy of intra-row spacing on the growth and yield of groundnut cultivars on the Jos, Plateau, Nigeria. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used involving four row spacings (15, 25, 35 and 45 cm) and three groundnut cultivars (SAMNUT 22, SAMNUT 23, and SAMNUT 24) arranged in 12 treatment combinations and replicated three (3) times on a 3 m x 3 m plot size with an alley of 0.5 m. Data were collected on plant height (cm), numbers of leaves, branches and pods plant-1, canopy width (cm), 100 seeds weight (g), plant biomass (kg ha-1) and yield (kg ha-1). The data collected was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test the significance between the treatment effects using F-test in XLSTAT 18 statistical package and where significance was observed, means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. The experiment showed that intra row spacing and cultivar significantly (p≤0.001) affected the growth and yield characters of the groundnuts. An intra-row spacing of 45 cm produced the highest growth characters of groundnut and 25 cm row spacing produced the highest yield characters while SAMNUT 24 out yielded the other cultivars producing the highest growth and yield. Based on the afore mentioned, it can be concluded and recommended that SAMNUT 24 is the most suitable cultivar and 25 cm intra row spacing is the optimal spacing for groundnut production in the study area.