Effect of gliricidia sepium and senna siamea prunings on the growth and root yield of cassava.
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Date
2009-07-19
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Abstract
Cassava is grown mainly on impoverished soils with no soil amendments such as fertilizers.
Continuous cropping of cassava without adequate maintenance of soil fertility could lead to
soil and environmental degradation. With high root yields and as an efficient soil nutrients
miner, cassava removes large quantities on N, P, K and Mg. Organic mulches particularly of
leguminous plants provide considerable quantities of plant nutrients. Mulching as an
agricultural technique is a useful and affordable tool in adapting low external input cropping
systems to local economic and environmental conditions. Pruning of plants provides the
biomass for use as soil amendment. Field and laboratory studies were conducted at Kwadaso
(Kumasi) from April 2005 - Dec 2006 to evaluate the potentials of Gliricidia sepium and
Senna siamea prunings for soil fertility improvement in Ghana. A randomised complete
block design (RCBD) was used. Six treatments used were: Gliricidia sepuim, Senna siamea,
½ Gliricidia sepium + ½ fertilizer, ½ Senna siamea + ½ fertilizer, control and fertilizer
(NPK). Fresh root yield ranged from 11.8 t/ha for Control to 31.0 t/ha for ½ Gliricidia sepuim
+ ½ fertilizer. The G. sepuim treatment produced the second highest cassava yield of 24.9
t/ha, while Senna siamea and Fertilizer treatment (NPK) treatments gave intermediate
cassava fresh root yields of 24.7 and 24.1 t/ha respectively. The highest nitrogen content in
cassava leaves was obtained in the Fertilizer treatment and Gliricidia sepuim (3.31-3.33 %).
The highest leaf phosphorus content was observed in the Gliricidia sepuim and Senna siamea
treatments, while the control, G. sepuim and Senna siamea had the highest leaf potassium
content. The cassava starch content for the sole treatments (sole Gliricidia, Senna, mineral
fertilizer) were lower than the combined application of prunings and mineral fertilizer.
Description
A thesis submitted to the School of Postgraduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master of Philosophy in Agroforestry.