This study was primarily aimed at identifying fertilizer management strategies to maximize soil nutrient acquisition by cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) in a degraded Paleudult in Agbani Enugu area in Southeastern, Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block (RCBD) with four replications and five treatments which comprised of No fertilizer, banding+single dose NPK, banding+split dose NPK, broadcasting+single dose NPK and broadcasting+split dose NPK. Soil analyses were carried out at 90 Days after Planting (DAP) in both years at soil depth of 0-30 cm. The data collected was analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance. The results of the study showed that fertilizer treated plots had between 10-18% lower values of soil pH when compared with plots not treated with NPK fertilizer and that the methods of fertilizer application used had no influence on soil pH content at 90 DAP. The results showed that banding+split dose NPK treated plots with 0.09% N had between 22-66% higher (p=0.05) N content when compared to other plots. The results also showed that fertilizer treated plots had between 76-80% higher organic carbon content when compared with plots not treated with NPK fertilizer and that the use of band placement method of fertilizer application increased soil organic carbon content by up to 20% at 90 DAP, whereas single dose or split dose application methods had no influence on soil organic carbon content. Banding fertilizers increased soil exchangeable K by 50% when compared with broadcasting fertilizer whereas, 25% more soil exchangeable K was found in soils where fertilizer was applied as single dose when compared to plots where split fertilizer application methods were used. The results also showed that the tallest cocoyam plants (45-51 cm) were found in plots treated with banding+split dose NPK for both years. These plants were taller by 46, 24-32, 22-23 and 6-7% than plots treated with no fertilizer, broadcasting+single dose NPK, broadcasting+split dose NPK and banding+single dose NPK treated plots, respectively in both 2013 and 2014 planting seasons. Corm yield of cocoyam followed the same trend. The highest corm yield of cocoyam plants (19-21 Mg haG 1 ) were found in plots treated with banding+split dose NPK for both years. These results show that different fertilizer management strategies impact on growth and development of cocoyam and the crop responds quickly to changes in the nutrient availability in the soil during the growing cycle.
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