Study of some physiological and yield traits of two ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) cultivars

A comparative study on some physiological and yield traits of ginger was undertaken using two distinct ginger varieties, The experiments was laid out on flats in a randomized complete block design replicated five times and analysed as a split-plot experiment. The main-plot treatments were the two varieties and the sub-plot treatments were three sett sizes of the two varieties (10g, 20g and 30g). Each sub-plot was a 2.4m x 0.5m flat bed, each bed containing 20 setts planted at 20cm x 20cm spacing. UG 1 and UG 2 . The effects of sett sizes (10, 20 and 30g) on these traits were examined. The number of shoots and leaf area per stand, plant height, rhizome yield and the number of rhizome fingers increased with sett size. UG 1 produced significantly more shoots and rhizome fingers per stand and was also higher yielding than UG 2 which produced significantly taller plants, all at 0.05 probability level. There was no significant difference between the cultivars for leaf production. The physiological attributes for high yield in the ginger varieties included early foliage development and high yield capacity to channel dry matter into the rhizomes. High net assimilation rate (NAR) and relative growth rate (RGR) values did not ensure high yields. Keywords: Ginger, Zingiber officinale , growth parameters, RGR, NAR, LAR, yield