Response of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) and Weeds to Plant Spacing and Weeding Regime in a Humid Forest Agro-Ecology of South-Eastern Nigeria | Chapter 03 | Recent Advances in Biological Research Vol. 6
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench)
is a vegetable crop belonging to the family of Malvaceae. It is extensively
grown in the tropic and sub- tropics but had its origin in Central Africa. One
of the cultural practices that farmers used in controlling weeds in okra farm
is spacing. It is a distance between one cultivated crop and another. The
spacing between rows and along rows varies one type of crop to another. Field
experiment was carried out in late 2015 and repeated in early 2016 cropping
season at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Port Harcourt,
Choba, Rivers State, Nigeria to determine the appropriate spacing and weeding
regimes for okra production. Three spacing (60 cm x 15 cm, 60 cm x 20 cm and 60
cm x 30 cm) and three weeding regimes [no weeding, weekly weeding, and twice at
3 and 7 weeks after planting (WAP)] were used. The experimental design was a 3
x 3 factorial scheme laid out in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with
three replications. The results showed that plant spaced at a closer spacing of
60 cm x 15 cm suppressed weeds better than other spacing in both years of
study. Okra performance was better at closer spacing of 60 cm x 15 cm than in
other spacing regimes. Similarly, weedy check had higher weed growth and least
performance than other weeding regimes. There was significant interaction
between spacing and weeding regimes. Plant spaced at closer spacing of 60 cm x
15 cm combined with weekly weeding plots had the lowest weed density and dry
weight of 0.00 plants /m2 and 0.00 g/m2 in both years of
study. While 60 cm x 30 cm combined with no weeding gave the highest weed
density and dry weight (395.00 plants/m2 and 306.33 plants/m2)
and (88.33 plants/m2 and 95.33 g/m2) in the late and
early 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons respectively. The interaction effect
further showed that the highest fresh
pod yield was obtained from plant
spaced at 60 cm x 15cm with weekly weeding (3.02 t/ha and 2.26
t/ha) followed by 60 cm x 15 cm
with twice weeding at 3 and 7 WAP
(2.96 and 2.22 t/ha). While, plant spaced at 60 cm x 30 cm with no weeding had
the lowest fresh pod yield (0.08 t/ha and 0.03 t/ha). Since, the yield obtained
from 60 cm x 15 cm with twice weeding (3 and 7 WAP) was not statistically
different from 60 cm x 15 cm weekly weeding, for economic considering the
former could be recommended.
Author(s) Details
Omovbude, Sunday
Department of Crop and Soil
Science, University of Port Harcourt, East West Road, Choba, P.M.B. 5323, Port
Harcourt, Nigeria.
Udensi Ekea Udensi
Department of Crop and Soil
Science, University of Port Harcourt, East West Road, Choba, P.M.B. 5323, Port
Harcourt, Nigeria.
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