Response of Anchote (Coccinia Abyssinica) to Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers Rates and Plant Population Density in Western Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

A comparative study of organic and inorganic fertilizer, and intra-row and inter-row spacing experiments were conducted at Bako Agricultural Research Center for three consecutive years (2002-2004) to determine optimum nutrient supply and plant population, respectively, for anchote production. The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The fertilizer study consisted of four nitrogen levels: 0, 46, 92 and 138 kg N ha -1 and three phosphorous levels: 0, 20 and 40 kg Pha -1 in a factorial arrangement along with farmyard manure (FYM) at rates of 5, 8 and 10 t ha -1 . The spacing study was conducted using three intra-rows: 10, 20 and 30 cm and four inter rows: 40, 60, 80 and 100 cm. Analysis of variance showed highly significant difference among N rates with respect to root length and root yield. Similarly, P and FYM supply resulted in highly significant difference in root yield. Apparently, application of 5 and 8 t ha -1 FYM resulted in an improved root yield of 44% and 63% over control, respectively. The supply of FYM was found to be superior over inorganic fertilizer supply perhaps due to its merits in improving soil structure, organic matter and enhancement of nutrient uptake. Intra-row spacing affected root yield highly and significantly while inter row spacing affected root yield and average root weight per plant. The reduction of intra-row spacing from 30 cm to 10 cm resulted in increase of total tuberous root yield by 137%. Reduction of inter row spacing from 100 cm to 40 cm resulted in high total tuberous root yield by 37.4%. From the present findings, therefore, 5-8 t ha -1 FYM or 46/20 kg ha -1 N/P and 40-60 cm inter row and 10 cm intra-row spacing are recommended for high yield of anchote production and enhancement of soil structure and its nutrient contents for the western sub-humid zones of Oromia, Ethiopia. Keywords : Anchote; Farm Yard Manure; Inorganic Fertilizer; Root Yield; Spacing East African Journal of Sciences Vol. 1 (2) 2007: pp. 120-126