Effect of Fertilizer on Forage Maize and Ginger Production in Maize/Ginger Intercrop under Alley System in Umudike, Nigeria
Abstract
The fertilizer effect on forage maize dry matter and ginger rhizome yield in maize (zea mays) + ginger (zingiber officinale) intercrop under Dactyladenia barteri based alley system was investigated in 2011 and 2012 in Umudike South-east Nigeria. Test consist of 3 levels of cropping systems (sole maize, sole ginger and ginger + maize) and three (3) levels of inorganic fertilizer (NPK 15: 15: 15) (0, 350 and 450 kg/ha), laid in a randomized complete block design with three (3) replications. Planting was done in May each year using a plot size of 2.5m x 2.5m, ginger sett weighing 20g and maize (Kewesoke) were planted at a spacing of 0.5m x 0.5m on ridges made in-between the Dactyladenia barteri hedgerows (Alley). The plots were mulched with 5 t/ha fresh pruning of D. barteri two days after planting. Data on plant survival, plant height, leaf number, rhizome and maize dry matter yield were taken and subjected to analysis of variance. Results showed that fertilizer rates and cropping systems had no significant effect on forage maize survival, plant height and number of leaf in both years of study. Significant differences were observed for fertilizer treatments on forage maize dry matter. The 450 and 350 kg/ha fertilizer rates had a pooled mean value of 10.7 and 8.40t/ha respectively. These values were significantly higher than the 0t/ha, which had a mean value of 7.42t/ha dry matter. Mean ginger plant survival and plant height showed no significant response for both fertilizer treatments and cropping systems, while significant differences (P<0.05) were observed for ginger leaf number and ginger rhizome yield for fertilizer treatments: 7.25,5.08 and 4.23t/ha for 450,350 and 0kg/ha respectively. Cropping system (intercropping) showed no significant effect on ginger rhizome yield under alley systems, indicating that intercropping may not influence maize and ginger growth, and yield under Dactyladenia barteri based alley system.
NAJ supports free online communication and exchange of knowledge as the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of research and development practice are made widely available. It is therefore committed to open access, which, for authors, enables the widest possible dissemination of their findings and, for readers, increases their ability to discover pertinent information. The Journal adopts and uses the CC: BY license and is open access. This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the Journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Copyright for articles published in this Journal is retained by the Journal.
