Abstract
Foliar application of fertilizers can guarantee nutrient availability to beans, leading to higher yield and seed quality. Different approaches including glycine have been used to improve mineral nutrient status of plants toward safer products and improved human health. However, limited research has been undertaken to understand the response of beans to amino Zn and Mg foliar fertilizer application in Ghana. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of zinc, magnesium, and combined zinc and magnesium foliar fertilizer application on two improved common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) varieties locally referred to as Adoye and Nsroma in the forest (Fumesua) and forest-savannah transition (Akumadan) agro-ecological zones of Ghana during the 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons. The treatments were arranged in split-plot design with the two improved common bean varieties as the main plot, and foliar fertilizer options (zinc, 200 g/ha; magnesium, 224 g/ha; combined zinc and magnesium, 100 g/ha Zn and 112 g/ha Mg) and water spray (control) as the subplot treatments. The zinc and combined zinc and magnesium treatments had similar and significantly ( P ≤ 0.05 ) higher plant height of 37.1 cm and 38.7 cm compared to the control and magnesium treatments. The results also showed that chlorophyll content was approximately 15.6% higher in plants treated with zinc plus magnesium compared to the other treatments. Similarly, stomatal conductance was significantly ( P ≤ 0.05 ) increased by 35.6% with zinc plus magnesium treatment relative to the other treatments. The improved chlorophyll content and stomatal conductance in those treatments resulted in ∼55.3–80.6% increase in crop biomass and seed yield. Crop performance parameters such as plant height, canopy spread, and chlorophyll content were significantly higher ( P ≤ 0.05 ) at Akumadan, resulting in a greater seed yield of 1486.2 kg/ha compared to 1365.3 kg/ha at Fumesua. Combined application of zinc and magnesium appears to be a potential soil improvement strategy for common bean production in tropical soil environment of Ghana.
Highlights
IntroductionE low soil fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is compounded by the low use of fertilizers in Africa (about 8 kg/ha), which is below the amount needed to compensate for lost or harvested nutrients [6]
Innovative plant nutrition strategies are required to address the multiple nutrient deficiencies that limit food production [1,2,3]
Experimental Site. e study was conducted during the 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons at the CSIR-Crops Research Institute experimental field at Fumesua (6o45′00.58′ N; 1o31′51.28′ W) in the semideciduous forest zone and Akumadan (7.3960° N, 1.9539° W) in the forest-savannah transition zone. e soil types in Fumesua and Akumadan are classified as Ferric Acrisol and Ferric Lixisol [23]. e top soils consist of grayish-brown sandy loam and dark brown to brown fine sandy loam soils at Fumesua and Akumadan, respectively [23, 24]. e study site is characterized by low soil fertility and poor moisture retention capacity. e climate is tropical, characterized by two wet periods within the rainy season, a major one between April and July, and a minor one between September and November
Summary
E low soil fertility in SSA is compounded by the low use of fertilizers in Africa (about 8 kg/ha), which is below the amount needed to compensate for lost or harvested nutrients [6]. Within this context, identifying and implementing innovative nutrient management strategies aimed at enhancing the resilience of common bean agro-ecosystems to nutrient stress which is a significant priority for sustainable bean production. Application of chemical fertilizers, in particular nitrogen (N) fertilizers, has had significant effect on growth and yield improvement in many agricultural crops [7]. Mineral fertilization of crops has had negative effect on plant, human, and ecosystem health. erefore, innovative strategies and International Journal of Agronomy techniques are required in fertilizer formulation and application to achieve higher yields whilst maintaining or improving soil fertility. ese strategies must be friendly to human and environmental health [8]
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