Abstract
Fusarium blight of soybean, caused by Fusarium oxysporum is one of the most destructive diseases of the legume. The pathogen is difficult to control owing to its persistence in the soil and wide host range. Soil tillage practice is one of the most important components of cultural soil management techniques that have a great influence on intensity of plant diseases. This study investigated the effect of tillage practice on the severity of Fusarium blight and yield of soybean. The land used for the trial was artificially inoculated with inoculum suspension of F. oxysporum left for one week before tillage. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments, each replicated three times. The treatments consist of ploughing only (P), ploughing followed by harrowing (PH), harrowing only (H) and no tillage (control). The parameters assessed include disease severity, number of pods per plant, pod length, pod weight, 100 seed weight and total seed yield. Findings from this study showed that at 4 weeks after planting, the highest disease severity (1.9) was recorded in soybean planted on ploughed land while the least blight severity (0.8) was recorded with no tillage. Soybean sown under no tillage produced significantly (P<0.05) higher number of pods per plant (41.6) while the lowest pod number (23.3) were produced on soybean sown on ploughed land. Soybean sown under no tillage produced a significantly (P<0.05) higher seed yield (328.0 kg/ha) than all other treatments. Tillage practice is an effective way of managing soybean diseases owing to its potential to adjust soil temperature and moisture. The tillage methods used in the current study incorporated Fusarium blight pathogen at varying soil depths, with no tillage being the most effective approach of reducing the severity of soybean Fusarium blight in infected soil. Key words: Blight, Fusarium oxysporum, soybean, tillage, disease severity, yield.
Highlights
Soybean, Glycine max L. (Merr) is a leguminous crop widely cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates of the world (IITA, 2009)
Findings from this study showed that at 4 weeks after planting, the highest disease severity (1.9) was recorded in soybean planted on ploughed land while the least blight severity (0.8) was recorded with no tillage
Soybean sown under no tillage produced a significantly (P
Summary
Glycine max L. (Merr) is a leguminous crop widely cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates of the world (IITA, 2009). Soybean is the richest source of complete plant protein, containing all amino acids essential for human nutrition. More than 216 million tons of soybeans were produced worldwide in 2007 with Africa accounting for only 1.5 million tons of this production estimate (Hartman et al, 2011). Nigeria is the largest producer and consumer of soybean in Sub-Saharan Africa with a low yield of less than 1 ton per hectare (IITA, 2009). Several abiotic and biotic constraints threaten soybean production, resulting in reduced yield and quality. The major biotic factors are weeds, pests and diseases (Hartman et al, 2011). More than 300 diseases have been reported on soybean (Hartman et al, 1999). Losses attributed to soybean diseases alone are estimated at 11% (Hartman et al, 1999)
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