RESPONSE OF GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogaea L.) VARIETIES TO WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND TIME OF PHOSPHORUS FERTILIZER APPLICATION IN NORTHERN GUINEA AND SUDAN SAVANNA, NIGERIA
RESPONSE OF GROUNDNUT (Arachis hypogaea L.) VARIETIES TO WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND TIME OF PHOSPHORUS FERTILIZER APPLICATION IN NORTHERN GUINEA AND SUDAN SAVANNA, NIGERIA
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Date
2022
Authors
JIBRIN, Dahiru Mohammed
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Abstract
Field trials were conducted in 2018 and 2019 wet seasons at the Teaching and Research farm of Samaru College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Kaduna State and the Minjibir Research farm of Agricultural Research Station, Kano State of the Institute for Agricultural Research , Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to evaluate the response of groundnut varieties to weed management strategies and time of phosphorus fertilizer application in the northern Guinea and Sudan savanna of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of three groundnut varieties (SAMNUT-22, SAMNUT-23 and SAMNUT-24), five weed control management strategies (weedy check; black polythene mulch; pendimethalin at 1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 as pre- emergence herbicide followed by (fb) fluazifop-p-butyl at 1.0 kg a.i ha-1 applied at 3 WAS; intra-row spacing at 10 cm; hoe weeding at 3 and 6 WAS); and two different times of phosphorus (P) fertilizer application (i.e 2 weeks before sowing and at sowing). The treatments were arranged in a split plot design with factorial combinations of weed control strategies and time of P application in the main plot, and groundnut variety were allocated to the sub-plots. The treatments were replicated three times. The most predominant weed species in Samaru at 2018 and 2019 were Oldenlandia herbacea, Vernonia cinerea, Ludwigia abyssinica and Ageratum conyzoides, while in Minjibir at both years the most predominant weed species were Oldenlandia herbacea, Alternanthera sessilis, Hyptis lanceolata, Commelina diffusa subsp. diffusa. The results from the study revealed that SAMNUT-24 recorded the least weed dry weight, weed cover score and had better weed control efficiency than SAMNUT-22 and SAMNUT-23. Furthermore, SAMNUT-24 had wider canopy spread, taller plants, higher crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area index (LAI), more nodules and better crop vigour compared with the two other varieties. The same variety flowered earlier and produced the highest pod and haulms yield. Evaluating weed management strategies; use of black polythene as mulch conferred significantly advantages with respect to weed control efficiency, low weed dry weight, weed cover score, higher CGR, LAI, canopy spread, pod yield, haulm yield, kernel yield and other yield components. Also, higher relative growth rate and nodule count were recorded under with black polythene mulch and hoe weeding at 3+ 6 WAS than in other weed control methods. Time of P application had no significant effect on weed, growth and yield characters evaluated. Groundnut pod yield was positively and highly correlated with haulm yield. In conclusion, the use of SAMNUT-24 with black polythene mulch and applying P 2 weeks before sowing or at sowing gave the highest yield of 2.50 t ha-1 at Samaru and 2.41 t ha-1 at Minjibir. Also, the use of SAMNUT-24 with black polythene mulch and applying P at sowing gave the highest net farm income at Samaru (N 1,405,643) and Minjibir (N 1,434,036) respectively. The following recommendations are drawn from the study; SAMNUT-24 is recommended for better pod and haulms yield groundnut. For effective weed control black polythene mulch or hoe weeding at 3 and 6 WAS are recommended for boosting productivity of groundnut. Application of phosphorous fertilizer at sowing is recommended for minimizing cost of production around Samaru and Minjibir.