Growth, yield and nutritional quality of Lagos spinach (Celosia argentea L.) as influenced by the density of goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.)
2021
Olatunde Philip Ayodele
The benefits of Lagos spinach (Celosia argentea L.) as a medicinal plant and leafy vegetableencourage its production. However, goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides L.) is a common weedin the agroecological region where C. argentea thrives. Evaluation of the goat weed effecton C. argentea is necessary since the impact of crop-weed interaction varies with speciesand density. A screen-house study comprising a C. argentea plant with 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and10 goat weed plants per pot were laid out in a completely randomized design and replicatedsix times. The experimental treatments were equivalent to 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and500 goat weed plants per square meter. Growth parameters of C. argentea, such as plantheight, number of leaves and number of branches, were recorded weekly. The study also analyzedweight, moisture, ash, lipid, dietary fiber, protein, and carbohydrate content of C. argenteaafter harvest. The results showed that all the goat weed densities negatively impactedthe growth of C. argentea. However, 8 and 10 goat weed plants per pot seemed to have thegreatest effect on the growth of C. argentea. The moisture content, ash, crude protein, andcrude fiber of C. argentea were significantly reduced by 50–60%, 60–69%, 45–56%, and42–54%, respectively, due to the goat weed densities, whereas the carbohydrate contentincreased. Hence, goat weed should be maintained at less than 100 plants per square meterto prevent quantitative and qualitative losses.
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