Abstract

  Tillage methods as a soil management practice improves crop quality and yield. An experiment was conducted in the 2019 dry season-farming, to evaluate the effect of tillage methods on soil properties and the yield of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in the department of Agricultural science education, student demonstration farm; of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze, Anambra State. Nigeria. The experiment consisted of three tillage methods (Ridge, Flat and Bed) with three replicates in a (3 × 1) factorial experiment. Tillage effects of plots under the flat (F) method performed significantly (p < 0.05), with a total number of 40friuts. The Flat (F) tillage method equally produced the highest mean fruit size of (18cm) as compared to bed (B) and the ridge (R) tillage method. Consequently, watermelon fruits under the bed (B) method of tillage had the highest mean fruit weight of (6.2kg), which was significantly different from mean weight obtained under the flat (F) and the ridge (R) methods of tillage. Planting on the flat (F) produced significantly higher number of fruits and size compared to planting on the bed and ridge. Therefore, both the flat and the bed methods of tillage has the potential for watermelon production in terms of number of fruits, fruit size and weight respectively in the study area.

Keywords: Tillage Methods; Ridge (R); Flat (F); Bed (B)

References

1. Jim Shrefler and Eric Rebek. “Watermelon (Citrullus lenatus) is one of the most important vegetable crops of Nigeria and is well adapted to its soil and climati condition Ext”. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental 2 (2014): 8-13.
2. Khurshid K., et al. “Effect of tillage and mulch on soil physical properties and growth of pepper”. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 5 (2006): 593-596.
3. Hammel JE. “Long term tillage and crop rotation effects on bulk density and soil impedance in northern Idaho”. Soil Science Society of America Journal 53 (1989): 1515-1519.
4. Lal R. “Tillage effects on soil degradation, soil resilience, soil quality and sustainability”. Soil and Tillage Research 51 (1993): 61-70.
5. Iqbal M., et al. “Residual effect of tillage and farm manure on some soil physical properties and growth of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)”. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 1 (2005): 54-57.
6. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan Nigeria. (IITA). “Long term conventional and no tillage effects on selected soil physical properties”. Soil Science Society of America Journal 54 (2013): 161-166.
7. Rashidi M and F Keshavarzpour. “Effect of different tillage methods on grain yield and yield components of maize (Zea mays L.)”. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 2 (2017): 274-277.
8. Khan FUH., et al. “Intrinsic implication of different tillage practices on soil penetration resistance and crop growth”. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 1 (2001): 23-26.
9. Smyth AJ and Montgomery RF. “Soils and Land use in Nigeria”. The govt. of Nigeria. Ibadan (1962): 50.
10. Federal ministry of Agriculture and rural development. Nigerian reference base for soil Fertilizer Research 6 (2010): 65-71.
11. Suleiman AA., et al. “Characterization and classification of soils on one toposequence at the federal college of education (Tecnical), Umunze South eastern Nigeria” (2015).
12. Woomer PL., et al. “The importance and management of soil organic matter in the tropics”. In: Woomer, P.L., and Swift, M.J. (Eds.), The Biological Management of Tropical Soil Fertility (2010).
13. Suleiman AA., et al. “Effects of tillage and Terminalia catappa L. leaf compost on soil properties and performance of Capsicum chinense Jacq”. 3 (2015): 73-82.
14. Enwenzor WO., et al. Fertilizer use and management practices for crops in Nigeria (series No 21) produced by Fertilizer Procurement and Distribution Division of the Fed. Ministry of Agriculture, Water Res and Rural Dev., Lagos (2013).
15. Agboola AA and Unamma PA. “Maintenance of soil fertility under traditional farming systems in: Lombin et al. (eds) Organic fertilizer in the Nigerian Agriculture, present and future”. Proceedings of a National Organic Fertilizer Seminar, Kaduna, Nigeria. March 26-27, 1991 (2010).
16. Adeoye GO and Agboola AA. “Critical levels for soil pH, available P, K, Zn and maize ear leaf content of P, Cu and Mn in sedimentary soils of South eastern Nigeria” (2013).
17. Bergmann W. “Nutritional disorders of plants”. 2nd ed. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena, Germany (2013).
18. Babalola O and Olaniyi V O. “Conventional and conservational tillage practices on Nigeria tropical soils”. Soil Science5 (2012): 269-278.
19. Soil Classification and Scaling soil nutrient balances. FAO Fertilizer and Plant Nutrition Bulletin No. 15. United Nations (FAO-UN) (2004).
20. Kogbe J O S and Adediran J A. “Influence of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium application on the yield of pepper in the savannah zone of Nigeria”. African Journal of Biotechnology 2 (2003): 345-349.
21. Ohiri AC and Ezumah AC. “Tillage effects on cassava production and some soil properties”. Soil and Tillage Research 17 (2002): 221-231.
22. Subolu IO and Akamigbo. “Critical levels for soil organic matter pH, available P.K.Zn and maize ear leaf content of P, Cu and Mn in sedimentary soils of South eastern Nigeria”. Fertilizer Research 6 (2005): 65-71.

Citation

Citation: Suleiman AA., et al. “Effect of Tillage Methods on Soil Properties and the Yield of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus)". Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.2 (2021): 18-23.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Suleiman AA., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.