The use of inorganic fertilizer to produce most vegetables in Ghana like carrot is in ascendency in Asante Mampong and its environs and its continuous use has a rippling effect on soil health and productivity and the high cost of these fertilizers is a challenge to most poor resourced farmers in Ghana. A field experiment was conducted during the major raining season in 2010 at the University of Education Winneba, Faculty of Agriculture Education research field at Mampong in the foresttransitional zone of Ghana on the Bediase series. The objective of the study was to evaluate the JEAI, 40(1): 1-11, 2019; Article no.JEAI.50242 2 effect of grasscutter manure in combination with NPK fertilizer on soil physical and chemical properties, growth and yield of carrot. The treatments were 300 kgNPK/ha, combination of half rate NPK fertilizer and different rates of grasscutter manure (GM) thus; (5tGM1/ha+150 kgNPK, 7.5tGM2/ha+150 kgNPK and 10tGM3/ha+150 kgNPK/ha) and control (without amendment) and the experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Results indicates that application of grasscutter manure in combination with NPK fertilizer significantly improved the soil physical conditions particularly, soil bulk density, total porosity, and gravimetric moisture content than the NPK alone and the control. Compared with the control, the treatment combinations significantly increased soil organic carbon, N, organic matter concentrations and exchangeable cations. Plant height, number of leaves, tap root length and root yield of treatment combinations were higher than NPK and the control. Also the treatment combinations significantly reduced nematode presence and number of roots deformed. For good soil health, grasscutter manure in combination with NPK would be better than either manure or NPK alone.
Original Research Article
Background. The experiment was undertaken at Nsapor, a suburb of Berekum municipality in the Bono Region of Ghana, from March 2019 to November 2019 to determine the suitable rate of fertilizer nitrogen application to optimize seed yield and yield attributes of Pannar 12 and Omankwa maize varieties in a semi deciduous agroecology of Ghana. Soil fertility is low in Ghana because of factors such as rampant annual bushfires, short fallow periods as a result of high human populations, continuous cropping, deforestation, and improper mining activities. There is also little information on crop variety and site-specific fertilizer recommendations in Ghana, resulting in inappropriate use of fertilizers by most Ghanaian farmers, culminating in low crop yields. Methods. Hybrid (Pannar 12) and open pollinated (Omankwa) maize varieties were treated with four rates of fertilizer nitrogen obtained from NPK 15-15-15 (0 kgN/ha, 90 kgN/ha, 120 kgN/ha and 150 kgN/ha) and laid out in a factorial combination in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. Results. Application of 150 kg/ha of fertilizer N to Pannar 12 variety resulted in grain yields of 6146 kg/ha and 6095 kg/ha in the major and minor rainy seasons, respectively. The results also showed that application of 120 kg/ha of fertilizer N to Omankwa variety gave grain yields of 4635 kg/ha and 5286 kg/ha in the major and minor rainy seasons, respectively. To optimize the grain yield of maize, farmers could use NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer as a source of nitrogen and apply 120 kgN/ha to Omankwa variety and 150 kgN/ha to Pannar 12 variety in both major and minor rainy seasons.
Cowpea adapts very well to environmental conditions that normally affect production of crops such as drought, temperature changes and other environmental stresses. However, apart from these attributes, the growth and development of some cowpea genotypes especially during flowering stage and yield of some cowpea are affected by drought and high temperatures. Two field trials were conducted at two different locations (Mampong and Fumesua) in the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons to evaluate yield stability of eight cowpea varieties (Asontem, Tona, Nhyira, Videza, Asomdwe, Asetenapa, Soronko and Tona) released over two decades ago by CSIR-CRI in the forest and transitional zones of Ghana. The experimental design used was a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. The results revealed that Asontem, Tona and Nhyira had high yields in both locations and across seasons. Asontem showed superiority amongst the genotypes across the seasons and locations with Soronko and Asetenapa having the lowest yields. The growth and development of the cowpea genotypes especially during flowering stage and yield were affected by drought and high temperatures, hence Soronko and Asetena had low yields compared to Asontem and other genotypes. It is recommended that, for farmers to get more profit due to unpredictable climatic conditions prevailing in Ghana, it will be profitable to grow early maturing cowpeas such as Asontem that can be stable across different environments in order to get stable yields with good returns.
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