Cacao Developmental Pattern, Soil Temperature and Moisture Variation as Affected by Shade and Dry Season Drip Irrigation
Journal Title: Journal of Experimental Agriculture International - Year 2016, Vol 12, Issue 3
Abstract
Field experiments were conducted in Akure and Oda communities in Ondo state within the rain forest zone of Nigeria between 2010 and 2012. Single and combined effects of shade and irrigation were investigated on soil temperature, soil moisture variations and cacao seedling development and establishment on the field. The treatments involved included plantain shade alone, dry season irrigation alone, plantain shade + dry season irrigation and the control. Seedling vigor in terms of plant height, number of leaves and basal stem girth were significantly higher under no shade + irrigation compared to those obtained in the control plots. No significant difference in the basal stem girth of the cacao seedlings and the number of leaves produced between no shade +irrigation and shade + irrigation at the first nine months of the experiment. Soil temperature was significantly higher in the unshaded plots compared to other treatments. Shade alone and the combination of shade + irrigation was found to significantly reduce soil temperature and enhanced seedling survival compared to the non-shaded control plots. The results indicated a significant difference between the irrigated plots with shade and the unshaded control. Shaded plots + irrigation enhances soil temperature maintenance within the range of 26-32ºC throughout the four months of dry season and also improve percentage seedling establishment from less than 61.5% under the control plots to 99.12% under irrigation alone and irrigation + shade. Percentage seedlings survival was highest under irrigated plots with no record of stand mortality as they suffer less of moisture stresses during the dry season as recorded under non irrigated plots.
Authors and Affiliations
Idowu B. Famuwagun
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP351365
- DOI 10.9734/AJEA/2016/22628
- Views 58
- Downloads 0
Empirical Analysis of Allocative Efficiency among Fadama Food Crop Farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria
The study examined allocative efficiency and its determinants among fadama food crop farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria using the stochastic cost frontier approach. A single-stage estimation procedure was used where socio...
An Outline for Economical and Technical Analysis of Solar Panels for Agricultural uses: A Case Study on Texas Weather Conditions
Aims: To outline the necessary steps in the evaluation of solar panel systems in agriculture. Study Design: Using the outline proposed, GaAs and Si solar panels were evaluated under central Texas weather conditions. Pla...
The Influence of Strong Static Magnetic Field on the Germination and Growth of Garden Cress (Lepidium sativum L.)
Aims: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of static magnetic field generated by a neodymium-iron-boron magnets on the growth of garden cress (Lepidium sativum L). Methodology: At the bottom of vessels with gar...
Impact of Foliar Application of Growth Regulators and Micronutrients on the Performance of Darjeeling Mandarin
Impact of Foliar Application of Growth Regulators and Micronutrients on the Performance of Darjeeling Mandarin
Improvement of Continuous Deficit Irrigation Efficiency on Young Plum Tree Using Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
This work aimed to improve the efficiency of continuous deficit irrigation (CDI) on plum tree through using symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Thus, an experiment was conducted in pots to evaluate the eff...