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Field comparison of West African planting and harvesting practices in yam (Dioscorea rotundata): pre-sprouting, dry season planting, and double-harvesting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

I. C. Onwueme
I. C. Onwueme
Affiliation:
Plant Science Department, University of IfeIle-Ife, Nigeria.
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Summary

Experiments were made to compare the practices of planting yam at the onset of the dry season (November) or at the beginning of the rains (February). Setts were also planted in February after pre-sprouting either outdoors from November/December, or indoors without water from November. Comparisons were also made between plots that were harvested first in mid-season and again at the end of the season (doubleharvesting), and plots that were harvested only at the end of the season (singleharvesting).

Setts that were pre-sprouted outdoors had low percentage emergence, produced weak plants, and yielded poorly whether double-harvested or single-harvested. Setts prepared and planted in the field in November emerged over a very long time, and attained half-maximum emergence only 10–19 days earlier than setts prepared and planted in February. Whether in double-harvesting or in single-harvesting, tuber yield/sett for the November planting was significantly greater than for pre-sprouted plantings, but not greater than for the direct February planting. The first harvest of the November planting had more mature tubers and a higher percentage of marketable tubers than the others. In all treatments, single-harvesting resulted in slightly greater yield than double-harvesting, but the differences were not significant. Each second-harvest tuber from double-harvesting was more amorphous in shape, more woody, and had more eyes (buds) on it than the single-harvest tuber. It is concluded that for efficiency of land utilization, February planting is preferable to November planting, and that singleharvesting is likely to be more economical than double-harvesting.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , April 1977 , pp. 311 - 318
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

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