Performance Evaluation of Dry Season Okra under Sawdust and Trash Mulch Cover Treatments in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

This paper reports the experimental investigation of the agronomic performance of okra under various quantities of both sawdust and trash mulches. The location of the field was the research farmland of the Federal Polytechnic Ado Ekiti Nigeria; Lat 6 ? N and Long 16 ? E. The experimental design used was complete randomized design with 6 treatments on both specimens. The experiments were repeated the following year on the same plot but with transposed plot allocation. Soil moisture loss from uncovered plot was with the highest value dropping to less than 2 per cent. It was followed by that of trash plot and the lowest loss was on sawdust mulched plot. The number of leave formed by okra on sawdust, trash and no mulch plots was 43, 36 and 27 respectively while maximum girth diameter was 37 mm in both trash and sawdust covered plots but okra plant on control plot attained only 26 mm diameter. Fruit yield were almost similar to trash and sawdust mulched okra having 7.5 and 7.6 Tonnes/Ha respectively while control plot recorded 5.2 Tonnes/Ha. The ash content of dry matter of sawdust, trash and no mulched plants was 0.25, 0.20 and 0.17 kg respectively. It was concluded that sawdust could perform as much as the traditional trash materials commonly used in Southwestern Nigeria. Also, sawdust was a good material for conserving soil moisture.