Browsing by Author "Ulzen Jacob"

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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.
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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
    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.
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    On-farm evaluation and determination of sources of variability of soybean response to Bradyrhizobium inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer in northern Ghana
    (Elsevier, 2018) Ulzen Jacob; Abaidoo R. C; Ewusi-Mensah Nana; Masso Cargele; 0000-0002-1235-2252
    Soybean yields on smallholder farms in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) are far below the potential yield thus creating a huge yield gap. Interventions are thus needed to bridge this yield gap and ascertain the factors influencing the yield variation. This study evaluated the on farm response of soybean to rhizobia inoculation and or mineral P fertilizer in Northern and Upper West regions of Ghana in a single non-replicate trial using four treatments: no input (control), TSP fertilizer (P), rhizobia inoculant (I) and TSP plus inoculant (P + I). In addition, the study sought to develop a robust approach for determining responsiveness and non-responsiveness using agronomic and economic indices. The results showed that the average grain yield of plots that received P or I were higher than control plots. Higher grain yield responses were however, obtained by the plots that received combined application of P and Bradyrhizobium inoculant. Grain yield response in the Northern region was higher than in the Upper West region. Response to P and or I were highly variable within and between locations. The cumu lative rainfall and some soil factors including soil nitrogen, phosphorus, soil type, organic carbon, pH and texture explained about 42–79% of these variations in soybean grain yield. The agronomic approach for determining responsive and non-responsiveness revealed that 17–40 % and 6–17% of the locations within the Northern and Upper West regions, respectively were responsive to P fertilization and/ or Bradyrhizobium inoculation. However, the economic approach indicated that 64–75% and 14–24% of the locations within the Northern and Upper West regions, respectively were responsive to P fertilization and Bradyrhizobium inoculation. The results imply that rhizobia inoculation is an effective strategy for increasing soybean yield and improving livelihood of smallholder farmers.
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    Organic Manure Improves Soybean Response to Rhizobia Inoculant and P-Fertilizer in Northern Ghana
    (Frontiers in Agronomy,, 2020) Ulzen Jacob; Abaidoo R. C; Ewusi-Mensah Nana; Osei Ophelia; Masso Cargele; Opoku Andrews
    Inherently low concentrations of soil nutrients and erratic rainfall pattern in sub-Sahara Africa limit soybean response to rhizobia inoculant and P-fertilizer. The study was conducted to: (i) improve soybean response to rhizobia inoculation and P-fertilizer through the addition of organic manure; (ii) enhance rain water use efficiency and (iii) determine the economic viability of combined application of the three factors in soybean cropping systems in the Northern region of Ghana. A factorial experiment with two levels of rhizobia inoculant, two levels of Phosphorus, two different kinds organic manure [fertisoil (a commercially prepared compost from urban waste, rice husks, of poultry manure and shea butter waste) and cattle manure] and a control arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications was established on farmers’ fields. The combined application of rhizobia inoculant, P-fertilizer, and organic manure markedly increased nodulation, shoot biomass, haulms, harvest index (HI), P agronomic efficiency (P-AE), and rain water use efficiency (RUE) compared to the control. The combined application of rhizobia inoculant, P-fertilizer, and fertisoil increased grain yield by four-folds whereas the combined application of rhizobia inoculant, P-fertilizer, and cattle manure increased grain yield by three- folds. Harvest index, P-AE, and RUE were relatively higher with the fertisoil treatment combinations than with the cattle manure combinations and the control treatment. The application of rhizobia inoculant, P-fertilizer in combination with fertisoil was profitable with VCR of 2 as compared to the combination of cattle manure which had a VCR of 0.40. The results showed that fertisoil offers a better option of improving soybean response to rhizobia inoculant and P-fertilizer; and has the potential to enhance rain water use efficiency. However, the long term benefit must be quantified.