Abstract
Abstract The objectives of the study were to assess the inter-relationship between growth, yield, nutritional and anti-nutritional responses of thirteen tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium L.) accessions to planting date (May, June and July) in the humid tropics. Tannia corms and leaves are veritable sources of dietary fibre and starch, also essential minerals and vitamins; hence its value for security and as a cash crop for people in the humid tropics. A two-year 13-genotype × 3 planting date factorial arranged rain-fed field experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out during the 2014 and 2015 cropping seasons at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Nigeria. The results indicated that planting date and accession influenced growth and yield of tannia, an indication of differential responses of the thirteen accessions to the planting dates (May, June and July). The results suggest that May is the most appropriate planting date; accessions planted during this month had the highest yields. The interaction between planting date and tannia accession was significant for some traits (number of leaves per plant and cormel weight per plant) in both years and significant for plant height, pseudo-circumference and corm weight (2014); leaf area and tannia yield (2015). The correlation analysis showed good selection characters in plant height, pseudo-stem circumference, leaf area, number of leaves per plant, corm weight, corm circumference, cormel weight and cormel circumference for high yielding varieties, while nutritional analysis (crude protein, carbohydrate, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, tannin and oxalate) exhibited lower concentrations in processed corms relative to unprocessed. The corm yield of the tannia accessions ranged from 1.49 to 13.48 Mt.ha−1 in 2014 and 2.72 to 8.50 Mt.ha−1 in 2015 and best four accessions judged by interaction between tannia accession and date of planting was 13 (Ikaro) > 12 (Idoani) > 3 (Ehor) > 10 (Idasen) in May 2014 compared to accessions 6 (Ewu) >10 (Idasen) > 12 (Idoani) > 1 (Ikpoba) planted in June 2015. The differences in sequence suggest that both environment and genetic constitution contribute to Tannia yield.
Highlights
Tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium), which belongs to the family Araceae is a staple food security crop with rich economic and nutritional qualities for many people living in Sub-Sahara Africa, south east Asia and the Malayan archipelagos (Onwueme 1999; Lebot 2009)
Across the planting date as a main factor; plant height, number of leaves per plant, and pseudo-stem circumference of tannia in both cropping seasons were highest when tannia accessions were planted in May compared with the other planting dates
Tannia accessions planted in May were taller compared with same accessions planted in June or July
Summary
Tannia (Xanthosoma sagittifolium), which belongs to the family Araceae is a staple food security crop with rich economic and nutritional qualities for many people living in Sub-Sahara Africa, south east Asia and the Malayan archipelagos (Onwueme 1999; Lebot 2009). According to Green (2003) and Chukwu and Nwosu (2008) the highly calorific corms of tannia are rich in carbohydrates and are nutritionally superior to other roots and tubers in terms of digestible crude protein and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. According to Lebot et al (2006), one cardinal avenue to increase or at least maintain crop yield in the face of a changing climate is to adjust planting dates of crops. Appropriate planting date is one of the most effective and zero cost means of increasing crop yields. Appropriate planting date is one of the most effective and zero cost means of increasing crop yields. Khan et al (2003) and Yadav et al
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