Cowpea was sown into pineapple-pepper intercrop at the establishment of pineapple in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the effects of its time of sowing into pineapple-pepper intercrop on growth and yield components of pepper. In 2011, cowpeas were sown into pineapple-pepper intercropped plots at 3 week intervals in addition to the sole crop components of pepper, cowpea and pineapple. In 2012, the experiment was repeated with the inclusion of pineapple-pepper intercrop with no cowpea introduced. The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Early sowing of cowpea at the time of transplanting pepper and at 3 weeks after transplanting (WAP) pepper significantly reduced pepper leaf area by 97.5 and 80.1% respectively. The decline in the number of fruits per plant ranges from 90.4% with sowing of cowpea at transplanting of pepper to 35.6% sowing was delayed by 9 weeks in 2011 while decline in 2012 rages from 89.6 to 1.4%. Lower fruit weight decline was obtained with delayed introduction of cowpea with 29.1 and 14.5% decline when cowpea was sown 6 and 9 WAT respectively. It is recommended that pepper could be introduced into pineapple field at establishment phase. However, sowing of cowpea should be delayed up to six weeks after transplanting pepper in order to reduce competition and to enhance complementary use of resources by the component crops.
Direct measurement of crop water use is difficult and labour intensive. In some cases, the technicalities involved can only be exploited by well-trained researchers. Therefore, estimating this important crop parameter from readily available climatic data by way of modelling will ease the burden of direct measurement. The aim of the study is to parameterize models of canopy conductance of rain-fed cocoa tree, suitable for inclusion in physically-based model for predicting water use of cocoa trees. To do this, Sap flow density was monitored in three cocoa trees (Forestaro cultivar group) at the eight (8) year old cocoa plantation of the
The humid tropics is characterized by wet-dry seasonal transitions, irrigation has the potential for building adaptation and resilience to climate stress for enhancing crop performance. A field trial was conducted to investigate the effects of dry season irrigation regimes on water use, root zone moisture dynamics and yield of cacao in a rainforest zone of Nigeria. Irrigation amounts computed as EPan x Pan coefficients were based on cumulative class A Pan evaporation. Irrigation treatments were coded as IrT1 (EPan x 1,0), IrT2 (EPan x 0.7) and IrT3 (EPan x 0.5). Irrigation water was applied 5-days interval and discharged via point source emitters (2.8 l/h discharge rate ) on drip lines laterally installed per row of trees. Mean irrigation requirements were 4.49 mm (9.81:9.6 l/tree/day), 3.14 mm (7.06:6.8 l/tree/day) and 2.44 mm (5.49: 4.8 l/tree/day) while total seasonal water applied were 121.19, 84.83 and 60.59 l/tree for IrT1, IrT2 and IrT3 respectively. Mean soil moisture contents and cacao evapotranspiration (ETc) were 52, 45 and 28 % and 4.54, 3.19 and 2.32 mm/day while evaporation from soil area wetted by emitters (EWz) were 5.65, 2.82 and 0.19 mm/day for respective IrT1, IrT2 and IrT3. The deficit irrigation strategies (IrT2 and 31 IrT3) imposed soil moisture deficit stress on cacao and produced lower pod and bean yields, it however enhanced water use efficiencies (25 and 44 %) and 30 and 50 % water savings. The study established suitable Pan coefficients for scheduling irrigation for cacao yield enhancement and drought (climate stress) amelioration.
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