Abstract
Field experiments were conducted at the eastern research farm of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, southeastern Nigeria (SEN), in 2016 and 2017 cropping seasons, to evaluate the effects of inorganic (NPK) fertilizer and vermesfluid on the root yield of cassava (TME 419). The experiment was a single-factorial in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments comprised 16 percentage combinations of the recommended rate of NPK fertilizer (600 kg/ha) and the maximum recommended vermesfluid concentration (4%). The vermesfluid was applied foliarly 4 times at a 4 weekly interval, while the NPK fertilizer was banded in at 6 weeks after planting. The cassava was harvested at 11 months after planting and the yield estimated in tonnes per hectare (t/ha). The results of a 2-year average showed that application of vermesfluid alone between the recommended concentration range of 3 and 4%, induced similar yield responses but resulted in a non-significant and significant reduction in cassava root yield below those of the control (T0) and the application of the full dosage of NPK fertilizer (T7), respectively. However, combined application of 75% of the recommended rate of NPK fertilizer with 100% of vermesfluid concentration (T12), gave exceptionally high cassava yield of 57.8t/ha, which significantly out-yielded every other treatment including T7 and T0 by 18.6% and 55.2%, respectively. On the basis of this result, T12, which not only gave the best yield but also reduced the application rate of the NPK fertilizer with the associated cost and environmental risk components by 25%, is recommended for sustainable cassava production on a degraded Ultisol of SEN.
Highlights
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a root crop with diverse agro-industrial end uses and many value-added products
The vermesfluid component of the treatments was foliar applied four times, in each year, at four weekly intervals beginning from 4 WAP, while the NPK fertilizer was applied at 6 WAP in both years
The soil pH varied from moderately to strongly acidic in reaction but with low exchange acidity (EA) and no danger to Aluminium (Al) toxicity and unlikeness to limit cassava production since the pH is above the critical level of 4.6 for cassava production
Summary
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a root crop with diverse agro-industrial end uses and many value-added products. In Nigeria, as in most countries of its cultivation, cassava is a major staple food security crop with immense export-market, income-generating and poverty-alleviation (FMANR, 19997) potentials. Cassava is utilised domestically in most countries, but in Thailand, it is desired mainly for the export-market, while China is presently a major exporter. Potential markets for cassava are mainly in the area of starch and starch-based products, for domestic animal feed production and for processed food and recently, a rapidly developing new market for ethanol production in Thailand, China and the Philippines. The production of cassava could be increased through expansion in the area under its cultivation and increased productivity (i.e. increase in yield per unit area). Nigeria’s cassava production figure comes more from the former than the later, which is reportedly very low (10.6t/ha) on farmers’ field (IITA, 2013)
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