Response of Plantain Intercropped with Arable Crops to Varying Levels of Potassium Fertilizer on an Alfisol
2003
Akinyemi, S.O.S. | Tijani-Eniola, H. | Olaleye, A.O.
An on‐farm experiment was conducted in 1992 and 1993 on an Alfisol in south western Nigeria. The objectives of this study were: (i) to determine the response of varying levels of potassium (K) fertilizer to plantain when grown as sole or intercropped with selected arable crops such as melon, maize, and cassava and (ii) to determine the critical limit of K in the soil at 90% relative plantain bunch yield. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. The treatments were four cropping systems: sole plantain (SP), plantain + melon (PME), plantain + maize (PMA), and plantain + cassava (PCA). Five levels of potassium fertilizers were used: 0, 120, 240, 360, and 480 kg K ha-1. The results showed that bunch yield of plantain at harvesting, the cropping systems follows the order: PME > SP > PCA > PMA. Highest bunch yield of about 10.39 t ha-1 were obtained with PME intercropping at the rate of 360 kg K ha-1. At varying levels of K fertilizers significant differences ( p < 0.05) were observed amongst the following morphological parameters: 50% days to shooting, plant height, number of suckers/stool as well as number of fingers/bunch. Cate and Nelson model showed that when these data are pooled, optimum soil test K was between 0.20 and 0.21 cmol kg-1.
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