Effects of Tillage Systems and Four Fertilizer Rates on Growth Parameters and Fruit Yield of Okra ( Abelmoscus esculentus ) and Pepper ( Capsicum annum )

摘要

The interactions between tillage systems and fertilizer play a significant role in determiningsustainability of horticultural crop production. Field experiment were conducted to determine the effects offour tillage systems: Ploughing (T1), ploughing plus ridging (T )2 and ploughing plus harrowing plusbedding (T3) and ploughing plus harrowing (T4), in combination with four rates of fertilizers: NPK (20, 10, 10)-at 0 kg/ha- (F1), 80 kg/ha-(F2), 120 kg/ha-(F3 ) and 180 kg/ha-(F4 ) on the growth and fruit yield of okra(Abelmoscus esculentus) and pepper (Capsicum annum). Growth indices such as number of leaves (NL), plantheight (PHT), stem diameter (SD) and leaf area (LA) were measured. Fruit yield (YLD) of the two crops weredetermined. Soil properties before and after the experiments were conducted. Results obtained revealedthat there was no significant difference (p 0.05) in bulk density (T1=1.29 gm/cm , T2= 1.40 gm cm , T3 = 1.453 3gm cm 3, T = 1.44 gm cm 3). However, cone penetration values were greatly influenced by tillage systems4(T1=0.065 kg/s, T2 = 0.97kg/s, T3 =0.95 kg/s, T4 = 0.93 kg/s). The differences among the tillage systems andfertilizer sources are more significantly (p 0.05) pronounced in PHT, SD, LA and YLD, where F3T1 recordedthe highest mean plant height (744.33 mm), F2T4, the best mean NL, F2T4 in SD, F1T4 in LA and F3T2 producingthe highest mean YLD for okra. Similarly, F3T4, recorded the highest mean NL, with F3T3 having the best meanYLD in pepper. However, overall result based on the cost-benefit showed that F3T3, was more profitablecultivation techniques for pepper and F3T2, for okra production respectively. Considering the production inputsof the crops, F3T3 and F2T4 appeared to be the best options for pepper and okra productions respectively.