Browsing by Author "Ewusi-Mensah Nana"

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    Combined application of inoculant, phosphorus and organic manure improves grain yield of cowpea
    (Taylor & Francis, 2020) Ulzen Jacob; Abaidoo R. C; Ewusi-Mensah Nana; Masso Cargele
    Low concentrations of P and organic manure in savanna soils limit cow pea response to rhizobia. The study was conducted to determine the combined effect of P and organic manure on cowpea response to rhizobia in a factorial experiment arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications on smallholder farmers’ fields in northern Ghana in 2015. The factors were two levels of Bradyrhizobium inoculant, two levels of P fertilizer, three treatments of manure (fertisoil, cattle manure, and no manure). Addition of Bradyrhizobium inoculant to P and fertisoil significantly increased shoot biomass yield from 1677 kg ha−1 in the plots without Bradyrhizobium inoculation to 1913 kg ha−1. Likewise, the addition of Bradyrhizobium inoculant to P and cattle man ure significantly increased shoot biomass from 1437 kg ha−1 to 1813 kg ha−1 .Grain yield increases of 1427 and 1278 kg ha−1 were obtained over the control when either fertisoil or cattle manure and P, respectively, were added to Bradyrhizobium inoculant. The value cost ratio for adding Bradyrhizobium inoculant to phosphorus and fertisoil was two indicating that it could be attractive to risk-averse smallholder farmers. The study demonstrated the potential of the combined application of organic matter and P to improve cowpea response to Bradyrhizobium inoculation.
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    Is there a need for Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense and B. japonicum reinoculation in subsequent cropping seasons under smallholder farmers’ conditions?
    (Elsevier, 2018) Ulzen Jacob; Abaidoo R. C; Masso Cargele; Owusu-Ansah Emmanuel Degraft Johnson; Ewusi-Mensah Nana
    Reliable information on the persistence of rhizobium in soil in the absence of host between growing periods is important in deciding whether inoculation on the same plot in subsequent seasons is necessary. This study determined the survival of introduced rhizobium strains and predominant factors that influence the declining rates of their populations. Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense (BR 3267) and B. japonicum (USDA 110) were manually incorporated into soils at four different locations (Kpalga, Tanina, Tunayilli and Busa) in northern Ghana at 2.5 × 108 (log10 8.4) and 2.5 × 107 (log10 7.4) cells g−1 peat, respectively, per 6 m2 . The populations of sur viving cells were estimated at 0, 21, 42, 81, 142 and 296 days using the Most Probable Number (MPN) count technique. Several decline functions were applied to the data with hyperbolic regression function emerging as the option that provides the best fit for B. yuanmingense strain BR 3267 and B. japonicum strain USDA 110 at all locations. There was no significant difference in the declining rates between the different locations; however, there were differences in the declining rates for the sampling times. At 296 days, the numbers of surviving cells of B. yuanmingense strain BR 3267 and B. japonicum strain USDA 110 were log10 1.9 and log10 1.7, respectively. Native rhizobium population and soil moisture were the predominant factors that affected the survival of the introduced strains. It is evident from the studies that these strains can survive in sufficient numbers at least within a year; therefore, re-inoculation may not be necessary for a following season especially when using B. yuanmingense strain BR 3267.