PERFORMANCE OF LIGHT GREEN VEGETABLE IN A CLAY LOAMY BOIL OF UMUDIKE UNDER DIFFERENT TILLAGE AND SOIL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted on a clay loamy soil of Umudike, Nigeria to determine the performance of light green vegetable under four tillage treatments and soil management systems. The tillage treatments are ploughing alone, ploughing and harrowing, harrowing only and no-tillage. The soils were treated with poultry manure, cow manure and pig manure. One of the plots was left untreated. The parameters measured are leaf number, height and root proliferation. Results of these measurements were subjected to statistical analysis using the ANOVA model. Results show that harrowing alone and ploughing with harrowing gave the highest and equal leaf numbers of 70 each when treated with pig manure. Also, ploughing and harrowing treated with poultry manure gave leaf number of 70, Ploughing and harrowing with pig manure gave height of 76cm (the highest). This is followed by harrowing with pig manure (75cm). Harrowing with no treatment gave 5cm, (the least). On root proliferation, harrowing alone with pig manure gave the highest (45) while harrowing alone with no soil treatment gave the least number of 5. For all the parameters measured, tillage treatment was not significance at 0.05 level of confidence but soil treatment was. It is therefore recommended that the best combination for light green vegetable production in the clay loamy soil of Umudike is harrowing alone with pig manure