Abstract
Spinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable crop in Zimbabwe, so the agronomic performance is unknown. A 3-year field experiment was done at the Seke Teachers College research farm, Zimbabwe. The research evaluated the response of baby spinach to different types of organic manure sources, days after fertilizer application (DAS), and growing season. A 3 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with three replicates was used. Baby spinach cultivar, Dash, was grown on three organic manures (goat applied at 14.894 t ha−1, cattle at 17.789 t ha−1, and poultry at 13.807 t ha−1) in winter 2018, 2019, and 2020. Compound D (7% N, 14% P, and 7% K) at 300 kg ha−1 was included as a control. Crop growth rate, leaf area index, leaf area ratio, net assimilation rate, total dry matter production, and harvest index were measured on 7-day intervals from 14 to 35 days after transplanting. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effects of the treatments on the baby spinach growth parameters was done. Significant p < 0. 05 interactions on the type of organic manure × DAS × growing season were observed on all the measured response variables. There were varied effects of organic manures on growth performance at 14 to 28 DAS where poultry manure had higher growth performance compared to cattle and goat manure. Generally, there was a significant p < 0. 05 gradual increase in growth from 14 to 35 DAS on the organic manures and a decline from day 28 to 35 DAS under compound D. Low quality (large C/N) cattle and goat manure had lower effects than high quality (small C/N) poultry manure at early growth stages of the baby spinach. Unlike compound D, organic manure continuously supplied adequate nutrients throughout the life cycle (35 DAS) of the baby spinach.
Highlights
IntroductionSpinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable in Zimbabwe belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. e crop is high in human nutrients and has relatively high levels of bioactive compounds like vitamins A and C and minerals [1]. e baby spinach is a quick maturing, cool season crop that grows well under the temperature of 5° to 30°C, though growth is accelerated at 15° to 18°C [2]. e baby spinach is a short season crop that is harvested when still young and has relatively low nutrient uptake. e crop grows slowly in the early stages and accelerates during the final 21 days before harvest [2]. e baby spinach leaves are relatively small (7.5–10 cm) and can be harvested up to 35 days after planting. e nitrogen (N) requirement for the baby spinach varies from 21 to 45 kg ha−1, 63 to 138 kg ha−1 P, and 22 to 45 kg ha−1 K [3]. e crop adapts well to a variety of soils but favours the sandy loam [2]
The effect of organic manure on soil and crop productivity varies with its quality. e quality of organic manure refers to its chemical composition in relation to nutrient content, which was shown to strongly influence the rate of decomposition [6]. e quality of manure influences the rate of mineralisation and the availability of N and other nutrients to the plants
Study Site. e study was carried out during the winters (June–August) in 2018, 2019, and 2020 at Seke Teachers College (STC) experimental fields, Zimbabwe (18° 01′ 98′′ S and 31°06′ 79′′ E). e STC is situated about 26 km south of Harare and has the average maximum and minimum temperatures of 25.3°C and 12.2°C, respectively. e STC lies in the natural farming region (NR) IIb of Zimbabwe. e area is characterised by a unimodal wet summer season receiving rainfall of 850 mm yr−1 that falls between October and April. e cold dry winter season is from May to July
Summary
Spinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable in Zimbabwe belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. e crop is high in human nutrients and has relatively high levels of bioactive compounds like vitamins A and C and minerals [1]. e baby spinach is a quick maturing, cool season crop that grows well under the temperature of 5° to 30°C, though growth is accelerated at 15° to 18°C [2]. e baby spinach is a short season crop that is harvested when still young and has relatively low nutrient uptake. e crop grows slowly in the early stages and accelerates during the final 21 days before harvest [2]. e baby spinach leaves are relatively small (7.5–10 cm) and can be harvested up to 35 days after planting. e nitrogen (N) requirement for the baby spinach varies from 21 to 45 kg ha−1, 63 to 138 kg ha−1 P, and 22 to 45 kg ha−1 K [3]. e crop adapts well to a variety of soils but favours the sandy loam [2]. It requires slightly acid to slightly basic soil (pH 6-7.5) but can tolerate soils with a pH of above 8.0 [4] Organic fertilizers, such as farmyard manure, poultry and goat manure, and biofertilizers, can be substitutes for the inorganic fertilizers in the production of baby spinach [5]. High quality (small C/N) organic manure, e.g., poultry manure, has a higher rate of mineralisation than low quality (large C/N) like cattle manure. It is, imperative to know the type of organic manure leading to high crop growth and performance for any particular soil type
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