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Investigations on Nigerian root and tuber crops: response of cassava cultivars to potassium fertilizer in Western Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. O. Obigbesan
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Summary

The response of three cassava cultivars to potassium fertilizer was studied in field experiments during 1972–3, 1973–4 and 1975–6. They included the local cultivar 53101 and the improved cultivars 60506 and 60447 which were F1 hybrids involving the local strain (53101) and cultivar 42074. In locations known to be low in potassium, the cassava cultivars showed only low response to K fertilizer with optimum performance at about 60 kg K2O/ha, but the local cultivar 53101 had apparently not reached its maximum tuber production even at 120 kg K2O/ha. This cultivar gave higher tuber yield increases (10–18 kg dried tuber) per unit weight of potash than the 60506 cultivar (6–10 kg dried tuber/kg K2O) while cultivar 60447 produced about 18 kg/kg K2O. Unfertilized 60506 produced average yields equivalent to those obtained from the heavily fertilized 53101 cultivar. Cultivar 60506 gave the highest dry-matter content. The improved cultivars retained more leaves than the local strain. K fertilizer enhanced the utilization index (storage root/top ratio) of the cassava cultivars.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

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