Manure placement method influenced growth, phenology and bunch yield of three Musa genotypes in a humid zone of Southern Nigeria

摘要

Manure placement methods earlier evaluated in a greenhouse using the banana cultivar PITA 14 as a test-crop significantly influenced root system development, vegetative growth, nutrient uptake, whole-plant dry matter yield and distribution of the crop. These placement methods plus an additional treatment were re-evaluated in a field experiment over two cropping cycles using three Musa genotypes. The treatments were: a full dose of poultry manure placed on the soil surface – top dressing (T₁), a full dose of poultry manure applied as a base placement prior to planting – bottom dressing (T₂), a split combination of T₁ and T₂ – half the dose of manure placed as a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing (T₃), inorganic fertilizer (T4) and no fertilizer (T₅) as a control. Results revealed that the main effect of genotype was significant ( P 3 supported more green leaves and gave about 9 %, 9 %, 20 % and 33 % more leaves than T₁, T₂, T₄ and T₅ respectively, particularly in the ratoon crop. When T₃ was compared with T5 there was a reduced number of days to flowering and fruit maturation by about 49 and 44 days, respectively. Split application of manure as half a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing (i.e. T₃) supported production of the heaviest fruits (208.1 g) and bunches (37.3 t ha^-1), especially in the ratoon crop. Therefore, placing half the dose of manure as a bottom dressing and the other half as a top dressing is recommended for sustainable plantain production in the high rainfall region of southern Nigeria.