Studies on irrigation and crop production in the dry season
1988
Gumbs, F.A. | Lindsay, J.I. | Holder, G.D. | Tumuhairwe, J. (West Indies Univ., St. Augustine (Trinidad and Tobago). Fac. of Agric.)
3 irrigation studies were conducted on cabbage, cowpea and bananas under dry season conditions and their response to mulching and tillage was also examined. In 1981 when cabbage was grown on St. Augustine loam, the 3-day irrigation cycle significantly increased fresh and dry weights, compared to the 7-day cycle and the non-irrigated plants. Mulching considerably increased cabbage yields. At both irrigation frequencies the application of coffee husks led to significant increases in cabbage head yield and the exchangeable potassium content of the soil. The irrigation of cowpea (4 and 8-day intervals) in 1984 resulted in increased pod density and seed yields, ranging from 1327 kg/ha for the non-irrigated plots to 1873 kg/ha for the 8-day irrigation cycle applied twice after flowering. Irrigation at the 8-day interval from the floral bud stage and the application of water thrice after flowering produced the highest yields in the no-till and till systems. In irrigation studies conducted on a plant and ratoon banana crop, irrigation significantly increased the number of fingers-per-bunch, bunch weight and the harvested fruit yield per hectare in the planted cro p. In the ratoon crop, increasing levels of irrigation led to increased hand-per-bunch and finger-per-bunch but there was a reduction in the harvested product due to the increased number of broken pseudostems. Irrigating the crop during floral initiation between 120-180 days after planting but before bunch emergence was critical to yield
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