Tillers carry leaves, determine leaf area index and indirectly influence the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) intercepted by the sugarcane canopy. Tillers develop into stalks, the sink for the products of photosynthesis. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of seasons and varieties on tiller population development trends and parameters using different varieties (ZN6, ZN7, N14 and NCo376). Three replicated experiments were established in early (March), mid (July) and late (October) seasons at Zimbabwe Sugar Association Experiment Station. The tiller population development parameters were determined in each plot and the data were analysed for seasonal and varietal effects using the mixed procedure of SAS. The tiller development parameters investigated were: peak tiller population (PTP), final tiller population (FTP), thermal time to peak tiller population (TTTP), thermal time per tiller (TTPT) and tiller survival rate (TSR). The order of importance of the parameters was season > variety > variety x season. The study suggested the presence of genotype by environment (GxE) interaction for PTP. The cane yield of the varieties significantly (P<0.05) decreased from early > mid > late season.
The high nitrogen requirement of sugarcane is problematic for small scale farmers in Zimbabwe due to the high cost and scarcity of fertilizer. Producing legume crops in rotation with sugarcane during the fallow period may alleviate the problem. The main aim of this research was to establish whether vegetable and grain soybeans used as fallow crops in sugarcane will benefit small scale farmers. Experimental design was a split-plot design with main treatments 1) vegetable soybean used as a fallow crop, 2) grain soybean used as a fallow crop and 3) fallow treatment (control) where the land was fallowed. After the fallow period sugarcane variety CP72-2086 was planted and topdressed with either 80 kg N ha -1 or 120 kg N ha -1 as the subplot treatments. Leaf area index (LAI), leaf nitrogen content (N content), sugarcane and sugar yield were measured. Cane planted in vegetable soybean plots and topdressed with 80 kg N ha -1 produced significantly higher cane and sugar yields compared to cane grown on fallow plots that received 120 kg N ha -1 . Incorporating vegetable soybeans in the system can therefore save about 40 kg N ha -1 while increasing cane yield resulting in a more profitable cane production cycle.
Climate change and potential adverse impacts on water availability for the purposes of sustaining competing demand uses are causes of concern among water resources managers. This study focused on assessing rainfall and runoff data of a micro catchment in Save's Odzi sub-catchment to determine if any trends existed and how far the results indicated climate change. The study had four rainfall stations (Rusape, Nyanga, Mukandi and Odzi Police Rail) and five runoff stations (E32, E72, E73, E127 and E129). Mann Kendall's test was applied for determining trends in the two variables. The results obtained do not point to climate change. This study recommended that issues of current land use patterns and water abstractions be thoroughly understood for the area under study. It also recommended that techniques which promote terrestrial carbon sequestration should be introduced in the micro catchment.
The effects of litter quality and inorganic nitrogen (N) on rate of decomposition and N release pattern by three leguminous woody species were investigated under field conditions by the litterbag technique. The research was carried out in Zambia. The alley trees were Leucaena leucocephala, Senna siamea and Flemingia macrophylla. Maize was the companion crop. Dried leaf litters were placed inside litterbags and buried into the top 10-15 cm depth of soil. The four inorganic N levels were 0, 34, 68, and 112 kgNha-1. Samples were drawn at intervals of 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks and were analysed to determine remaining dry matter weight, N, lignin, cellulose, polyphenol and carbon. Major findings were that L. leucocephala and S. siamea decomposed significantly faster than F. macrophylla. It was also observed that the level of inorganic N had a significant effect on decomposition rate. These results show that both the chemical composition of plant residues and level of inorganic fertiliser N applied increased the rate of plant residue decomposition.
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