Growth Assessment, Processing and Uses of Vitellaria Paradoxa C.F. Gaertn
Journal Title: Journal of Animal Production Advances - Year 2015, Vol 5, Issue 12
Abstract
The shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn) is a multi-purpose tree daily used by rural African communities. A field experiment was carried out to investigate the provenance germination trial of shea tree and its early growth. The experiment was conducted during the 2013 rainy season at the Faculty of Agriculture, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Shabu-Lafia Campus. Sample trees were systematically numbered for easy identification and enumeration. The study was laid out in a 3 x 4 x 2 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design (CRD). The treatment was analyzed with respect to 3 Zones and 4 locations and 2 types of manure, while growth variable measured were: early root length, plant height, number of leaves, leave width and leave length. Correlation analysis was used to access the magnitude and the direction of relationship between the selected variable while the plan height was predicted using linear regression analysis. The average weight of the seeds without pods was 24.69±3.16g, the highest weight of 26.51±2.87g was observed in the seeds collected from Lafia Zone, this was followed by 26.31±2.88g observed in the seeds collected from Keffi Zone while the least weight of 23.26±3.36g was observed in Lafia Zone. The result of growth variables revealed that, the average plant height of Vitellaria paradoxa seedlings was 4.54±1.46cm, 4.33±1.12 leave count, 3.31±1.07cm leave width while the average leave length of 6.08±1.86cm (Table 1). However, analysis of variance showed a significant difference in early growth variables assessed at p<0.05. The result of Correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant correlation between leave width and leave length (0.648**). The result of regression analysis on the effects of growth variables on tree plant height had coefficient of (R2 = 0.769) meaning that the assessed growth variables had about 76.9% effects on plant height of Vitellaria paradoxa seed collected from different locations in Nasarawa State. The very slow growth, which has hindered the domestication of the species, can be reversed significantly through the development of modern propagation techniques, which reduces periods of juvenility and the awareness of the need for the conservation of natural plant populations must be created to encourage the local communities to conserve the shea trees hence the need for this study.
Authors and Affiliations
Z. T. Egbewole , E. D. Kuje , O. Akinyemi
Keywords
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