Growth and development of wetland-grown taro under different plant populations and seedbed types in Uganda

Abstract

Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] is a member of the Araceace family that is a staple food for many people in developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. It is widely grown in Uganda but the extent of its production and consumption is not known, partly because it has been ignored as legitimate crop for research and development (R&D), and it is managed outside the conventional agricultural production, marketing and economic channels. Therefore, there is limited information on many aspects of taro, including agronomic practices. In order obtain data that can support improved and sustainable taro production, a field trial was conducted over two cropping seasons at Kabanyolo in central Uganda, to determine the effect of three taro plant populations (10,000, 17,760 and 40,000 pph) and two seedbed types (flat and ridged seedbed) on growth and yield of taro. The treatments were arranged in a split -split -plots design, with three replications. Seedbed type was in the main plot and plant populations in the sub-plots. These were further split to accommodate five sampling dates for plant growth. Each experimental subplot measured 6 m x 6 m and contained 36, 64 and 144 experimental plants, respectively. During a 5-month growth period, leaf area index (LAI) and corm yield were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in closely spaced plants (high plant population). Seedbed type had no (P>0.05) effect on taro growth and yield. However, using high plant population may not be recommended because of the enormous amount of planting material that would be needed. From this study, a moderately wide spacing of 0.75 m x 0.75 m which produced an acceptable yield of 5.5 -6.8 t ha -1 would be recommended. rendement de Taro. Les traitements avaient été organisées en split -split -plot dans un modèle en blocs completement randomisés avec trois réplications. La bande de sémis type était dans la parcelle principale qui avait été divisée pour recevoir trois populations végétales et celles-ci étaient en plus divisées pour recevoir cinq dates de plantation échantillonnées pour la croissance des plantes. Pendant une période de croissance de 5 mois, l'index de surface de feuilles (LAI) et le rendement en bulbe étaient significativement plus élevés (P < 0,05) dans les plantes étroitement espacées (plante à population dense), tandis que le type de bande de plantation n'avait pas affecté la croissance et rendement de Taro. Toutefois, une densité de plantation élevée pourrait ne pas être recommandée en raison de la quantité énorme de materiel de plantation qui serait nécessaire en plus de rendement net réduite par unité de matériel de plantation. De cette étude, un espacement modérément large de 0,75 m x 0,75 m qui avait produit un rendement acceptable de 5,5 -6,8 tonnes par hectare pourrait être recommandé. Le choix du type de bande de plantation à être utilisée pour la production de Taro doit dépendre de la topographie et du degré de l'humidité de la zone de production.

Growth, Development, and Yield of Taro Plants Treated with Controlled and Fast Release Nitrogen Fertilizers

“…increased during the early growth stages before gradually declining as they approached maturity (Fa'amatuainu, 2016;Noor et al, 2015;Tumuhimbise et al, 2009). Meanwhile; Fig. 1B shows that polymer-coated urea produced optimum CI at 1 MAP, whereas urea produced optimum CI at 2 and 3 MAP.…”

“…Difference in the time in which taro plants produced their highest number of leaves is probably due to the disparity between the sites such as drainage and soil pH. Literature suggested that taro usually increased its leaves production from 1 to 5 MAP (Faamatuainu and Amosa, 2016;Noor et al, 2015;Tumuhimbise et al, 2009). Table 3 shows the leaf blades, petioles, and corms yield (Mg ha -1 ) of taro plants at three harvest intervals applied with CR and FR N fertilizers.…”

Identification and molecular characterization of Taro bacilliform virus and Taro bacilliform CH virus from East Africa

“…The corm of taro and tannia plants are sources of starch and dietary fibre and also contain substantial amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals (Ndabikunze et al ., ; Akwee et al ., ). In East African countries, both these aroids are mainly cultivated by smallholder farmers where they play important cultural, economic and nutritional roles (Onwueme & Charles, ; Talwana et al ., ; Tumuhimbise et al ., ; Beyene, ).…”

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“…The dasheen type is known as magogoya in Zimbabwe, the cormels are usually absent and it is the mother corm which is the main storage organ (Tumuhimbise et al, 2009). In the dasheen types of taro, the corm is cylindrical and large.…”