Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T07:13:54.137Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Investigations on Nigerian root and tuber crops. Influence of nitrogen fertilization on the yield and chemical composition of two cassava cultivars (Manihot esculenta)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. O. Obigbesan
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
A. A. A. Fayemi
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Summary

The results of field experiments on the influence of nitrogen fertilization on the yield components, starch and prussic acid content of two of the cassava cultivars recommended for cultivation in Nigeria are presented. The two cultivars 53101 (local) and 60506 (improved) were harvested at 9, 12 and 15 months. In general, the improved cultivars appeared to respond better to N fertilization, but high rates of N (150 kg N/ha) tended to reduce the yield performance of the two cultivars. The local cultivar produced maximum yields of 31·5, 37·5 and 55·7 fresh tuber t/ha with 60 kg N/ha at 9, 12 and 15 months, respectively, while the improved cultivar gave maximum yields of 31·5 and 48·4 t/ha with 120 kg N/ha at 9 and 12 months, respectively, and 64·1 t/ha with 90 kg N/ha at 15 months. By allowing the crop to grow up to 15 months, the starch yield was more than doubled and about three times the yield obtained at 9 months. The 53101 strain seemed to produce maximum starch yields with 60 kg N/ha while the 60506 type tended to give maximum starch yields with 90 kg N/ha. Influence of N treatments was significant up to 12 months of age but not at 15 months.

The HCN content of both cultivars diminished considerably with the age of the plant, dropping at 15 months to about half the level at 9 months. While the HCN concentration of the local cultivar tended to increase with higher N-fertilization, that of the improved cultivar diminished, particularly at 12 months after planting. At 15 months however, the HCN content of both cultivars rose with increasing N. fertilization.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amon, B. O. E.(1965). The response by crops in a rotation to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the savannah zone of Western Nigeria. Proceedings of OAU/STRC Symposium on the Maintenance of Soili Fertility, publication no. 58.Google Scholar
Anonymous (1962). AnnualReport 1960–61. Agriculture Division Official Document No. 21. Ministry of Agriculture, Enugu, Eastern Nigeria.Google Scholar
Anonymous (1963). Annual Report 1961–62. Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Western Nigeria.Google Scholar
Anonymous (1973). Bacterial wilt disease of cassava. Advisory Bulletin No.1 Federal Agricultural Research and Training Station, Umudike, Nigeria.Google Scholar
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (1965). A. O. A. O. Official Methods of Analysis, 10th ed. p. 341. Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Ayres, J. C. (1972). Processing of cassava for industrial andfood uses. In A Literature Review and Research Recommendations on Cassava (Hendershott, C. H. et al. ), pp. 183221. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.Google Scholar
Briant, A. K. (1959). Manural experiment on cassava. Bulletin, Department of Agriculture, Zanzibar, no.4, pp. 56.Google Scholar
Chadha, T. B. (1958). Fertilizer experiments on tapioca in the Kerala. Journal of the Indian Society of Soil Science 6, 5364.Google Scholar
Chaewsamoot, S., Yimprasbrt, S.&Blevins, R. L. (1973). Nutrient removal by cassava under different levels of fertility. 3rd International Symposium on Tropical Root Crops, Ibadan, Nigeria, AMPS/1973.Google Scholar
Childs, A. H. B. (1961). Cassava Bulletin, no.5. Ministry of Agriculture. Tanganyika.Google Scholar
Cours, G., Fritz, J.&Ramabadimby, G. (1961). Phelodermic diagnosis of the nutritional status of manioc. Fertilité 12, 320.Google Scholar
De Geus, J. G. (1967). Fertilizer Guide for Tropical and Subtropical Farming. Centre d'Etude, de L'azote, Zurich.Google Scholar
Doku, E. V. (1969). Cassava in Ghana. Acra: Ghana University Press.Google Scholar
Freedom from Hunger Campaign (1963). Review of Trials and Demonstration Results, 1962/63. Fertilizer Programme. F.A.O. Rome.Google Scholar
Gurnah, A. M. (1973). Effect of plant population and fertilizers on yield and yield components of cassava in the forest zone of Ghana. 3rd International Symposium on Tropical Root Crops. Ibadan, Nigeria, AMPS/1973.Google Scholar
Obi, J. K. (1959). The standard DNPK experiments. Technical Report, Regional Research Station, Samaru, Nigeria, no. 8.Google Scholar
Okigbo, B. N. (1971). Effect of planting date on the yield and general performance of the cassava (M. utilissima Pohl.). The Nigerian Agricultural Journal 8, 115–22.Google Scholar
Pulss, G. (1962). Untersuchungen zur Isolierung and Bestimmung von Blausaure in pflanzlichen Material. Zeitschrift für Analytische Chemie 190, 402409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silvestre, F. (1967). Research on root crops by I. R. A. T. in Africa and Madagascar. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Tropical Root Crops, Trinidad, 1, section 3, 84–7.Google Scholar
Sinha, S. K. (1969). Cyanogenic glucoside production and its possible control in cassava. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology 12, 140–7.Google Scholar
Smyth, J. A. & Montgomery, R. F. (1962). Soils and Land Use in Central Western Nigeria, Ibadan. Government Press of Western Nigeria.Google Scholar
Tardieu, M.&Fauche, J. (1961). Contribution à l'étude des techniques culturales chez le manioc. L'Agronome Tropicale 16, 375–86.Google Scholar