Effect of leaf litters of selected nitrogen fixing albizia trees on the growth and yield of ginger (<i>Zingiber officinale Roscoe</i>)

Abstract

There is paucity of quantified information on the plant based organic manuring of Zingiber officinale. In this light, a Completely Randomized Design  with five replications was laid out to assess the effect of leaf litters of selected nitrogen fixing albizia trees (Albizia zygia, Albizia coriaria, Albizia ferruginea, Albizia lebbeck and Albizia saman) and control on the growth and yield of Zingiber officinale on the field of Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The experiment consists of 6 treatments replicated five times. A propagule represented a replicate. The total number of thirty propagules of approximately equal weight (20 g) was involved in the experiment. The same quantity of leaf litters (100 g)
was placed at 5 cm depth and 5 cm radius from planted propagule in the heap of about 3 kg of soil. Water (500 mL) was applied per heap before and after planting the propagule. Zingiber officinale growth parameters evaluated include height, girth, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf area index, total fresh and dry weight. Data collected was subjected to one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and significant means were separated using Fischer’s Least Significant Difference (LSD). Leaf litters of nitrogen fixing albizia trees significantly (P<0.05) influenced growth and yield of Z. officinale. The significant height (37.34 cm)., widest girth (2.68 cm), significant leaf area index (3.28)., significant total fresh weight (72.95 g) and total dry weight (3.86 g) were recorded from seedlings of propagules planted in leaf litters of A. saman between 4- 12weeks after planting (WAP) respectively. Significant fresh weight (69.75 g) and dry weight (3.60 g) were recorded for the roots (yield) of seedlings from propagules planted in the soil incorporated with leaf litters of A. saman. The use of leaf litters of A. saman on the soil enhanced the growth and yield of Z. officinale.

Key words: Nitrogen fixing trees, Leaf litters, Manure, Amendment, Growth, Propagules