Combined application of inoculant, phosphorus and organic manure improves grain yield of cowpea
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Date
2020
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Taylor & Francis
Abstract
Low concentrations of P and organic manure in savanna soils limit cow pea response to rhizobia.
The study was conducted to determine the combined effect of P and organic manure on cowpea response to
rhizobia in a factorial experiment arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications on
smallholder farmers’ fields in northern Ghana in 2015. The factors were two levels of Bradyrhizobium
inoculant, two levels of P fertilizer, three treatments of manure (fertisoil, cattle manure, and no manure).
Addition of Bradyrhizobium inoculant to P and fertisoil significantly increased shoot biomass yield from 1677 kg
ha−1 in the plots without Bradyrhizobium inoculation to 1913 kg ha−1. Likewise, the addition of Bradyrhizobium
inoculant to P and cattle man ure significantly increased shoot biomass from 1437 kg ha−1 to 1813 kg ha−1
.Grain yield increases of 1427 and 1278 kg ha−1 were obtained over the control when either fertisoil or cattle
manure and P, respectively, were added to Bradyrhizobium inoculant. The value cost ratio for adding
Bradyrhizobium inoculant to phosphorus and fertisoil was two indicating that it could be attractive to
risk-averse smallholder farmers. The study demonstrated the potential of the combined application of organic
matter and P to improve cowpea response to Bradyrhizobium inoculation.
Description
This article is Published by Taylor & Francis, 2020 and is also available at https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2019.1669786
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Citation
ARCHIVES OF AGRONOMY AND SOIL SCIENCE 2020, VOL. 66