High Soil Phosphorus Application Significantly Increased Grain Yield, Phosphorus Content but Not Zinc Content of Cowpea Grains
Saba B. Mohammed | Daniel K. Dzidzienyo | Adama Yahaya | Muhammad L. Umar | Mohammad F. Ishiyaku | Pangirayi B. Tongoona | Vernon Gracen
To ameliorate the impact of soil phosphorus (P) deficiency on cowpea, the use of P-based fertilizers is recommended. Plant zinc (Zn) is an essential nutrient required by plants in a wide range of processes, such as growth hormone production and metabolism. However, a negative association between plant Zn content and high P application has been reported in some crops. There are few reports about soil P application and plant Zn content relationship on cowpea. Thus, this study investigated the response of cowpeas to three P rates in the screenhouse (0, 1.5, and 30 mg P/kg) and field (0, 10, and 60 kg P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>/ha) and their effects on plant P and Zn content, biomass, and grain yield. In the screenhouse, shoot and root dry weights, and shoot P and Zn content were measured. Shoot dry weight, grain yield, grain P, and Zn contents were determined from field plants. Higher rates of P led to increased shoot biomass and grain yield of the field experiment but were not associated with a significant change in shoot or grain Zn content. There was not a significant correlation between grain yield and Zn content in high soil P (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The effect of higher P application on reduced plant Zn contents may be genotype-dependent and could be circumvented if genotypes with high Zn content under high soil P are identified.
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