Abstract

  An important factor responsible for the declining food production in south- west and other parts of Nigeria is the mismanagement of natural resources, and its resulting soil loss. A study was carried out in Uyo, Nigeria to evaluate the soil nutrient losses due to sweet potato harvesting under different tillage-mulch practices. The field was laid out using a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design. Treatments combinations included two types of tillage (No Tilled and Tilled) as well as four rates of cattle cud mulch (0, 10, 20 and 30 tons ha^-1) to give a total of eight treatment combinations in three replications. Sweet potatoes were planted in the experimental units which measured 9m² each at the spacing of 1m x 0.5m, at one vine per stand, giving a total of 18 plants per plot. Soil data were collected at the pre-plant, mid-plant and at harvest. Data of sweet potatoes yield were also collected. Soil and nutrient losses were measured at harvest. Data were assessed using the Analysis of Variance and correlation analyses were also performed to determine the relationships between soil and crop parameters studied. Results showed that Cattle cud mulch reduced the bulk density of the soil and a corresponding increase of total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity with effect apparently increasing as the application rate of cattle cud mulch increased. Tuber girth and tuber length showed significant increase with increasing rate of cattle cud mulch application with the highest values of 19 cm and 21.07 cm, respectively being recorded with M₃₀. The application of cattle cud mulch significantly increased Soil Loss Due to Crop Harvest owing to the increase in soil organic matter and aggregation, which resulted in aggregated soils clinging more to roots of harvested crops than less aggregated soils. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others, that farmers should adopt the no till method in the cultivation of tubers crops and cattle cud should be adopted as a choice organic material.

Keywords: Aggregation; Animal Manure; Crop; Erosion; Mulching; Yield

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Citation

Citation: ID Edem., et al. “Soil Nutrients Loss due to Sweet Potato (Ipomea batata) Harvesting Under Different Tillage-mulch Practices in Uyo, Nigeria". Acta Scientific Biotechnology 1.11 (2020): 25-34.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 ID Edem., 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.