TY - JOUR
T1 - Irrigation and oil palm empty fruit bunch mulch enhance eggplant growth, radiation interception and dry matter yield
AU - Nyasapoh, John Bright Amoah
AU - Danso, Eric Oppong
AU - Kpodo, Daniel Selorm
AU - Amponsah, William
AU - Arthur, Emmanuel
AU - Sabi, Edward Benjamin
AU - Obour, Peter Bilson
AU - Akortey, William
AU - Mensah, Bernard Kwabena Boadi
AU - Ayayi, Grace Elorm
AU - Andersen, Mathias Neumann
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Organic mulching is a well-known management practice that conserves soil water and nutrients as well as increases crop yield. Nonetheless, research on combined organic mulching using oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and irrigation is limited. Field-based experiments were conducted over three seasons to test the sole and combined effects of EFB as organic mulch and irrigation on the growth, total dry matter yield (TDMY), accumulated intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (AIPAR), and radiation use efficiency (RUE) of African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) in a low fertile tropical sandy clay loam soil. Air-dried EFB was used as an organic mulch by spreading it on the soil surface at rates of 0 (EFB0), 20 (EFB20), and 40 t ha−1 (EFB40), and either fully-irrigated (I100), deficit-irrigated (I40), or non-irrigated (I0). The I100 plots were irrigated to field capacity (FC) every 3–4 days based on PR2 Profile Probe measurements and the resultant irrigation volume supplied to the plants via drip irrigation tubes. The I40 plots received 40 % of the water given to the I100 plots, and the I0 plots were solely rain-fed. At the end of the third season, the 40 t ha−1 EFB-mulch increased soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon, potassium, cation exchange capacity, and the soil's specific surface area. In the first season, all the measured eggplant growth and yield parameters were neither responsive to irrigation only, EFB-mulch only, or both. In the second and third seasons, the EFB20 and EFB40 treatments significantly (p < 0.05) increased leaf chlorophyll content index (LCCI), photosystem II (Fv/Fm ratio), absolute performance index (PIabs), TDMY, AIPAR, and RUE compared to the non-mulched control treatment. Soil pH was high in the EFB-mulched plots and correlated positively with TDMY and AIPAR. The I100 significantly improved LCCI, Fv/Fm, PIabs, and TDMY during the second season. In the third season, a highly significant interaction between irrigation and mulching was detected on TDMY, AIPAR, RUE, LCCI, Fv/Fm ratio, and pH (H2O). This indicated a positive effect on soil nutrient availability especially phosphorus as TDMY and AIPAR correlated with soil pH. The I100 and I40 significantly increased AIPAR by 48.1 % and 37.2 %, and RUE by 26.7 % and 11.0 %, respectively, compared to I0 during the third season. The total dry matter yield of the African eggplant was enhanced by EFB-mulch, with the effect increasing over up to three growing seasons, especially when combined with irrigation during dry periods.
AB - Organic mulching is a well-known management practice that conserves soil water and nutrients as well as increases crop yield. Nonetheless, research on combined organic mulching using oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and irrigation is limited. Field-based experiments were conducted over three seasons to test the sole and combined effects of EFB as organic mulch and irrigation on the growth, total dry matter yield (TDMY), accumulated intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (AIPAR), and radiation use efficiency (RUE) of African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum L.) in a low fertile tropical sandy clay loam soil. Air-dried EFB was used as an organic mulch by spreading it on the soil surface at rates of 0 (EFB0), 20 (EFB20), and 40 t ha−1 (EFB40), and either fully-irrigated (I100), deficit-irrigated (I40), or non-irrigated (I0). The I100 plots were irrigated to field capacity (FC) every 3–4 days based on PR2 Profile Probe measurements and the resultant irrigation volume supplied to the plants via drip irrigation tubes. The I40 plots received 40 % of the water given to the I100 plots, and the I0 plots were solely rain-fed. At the end of the third season, the 40 t ha−1 EFB-mulch increased soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon, potassium, cation exchange capacity, and the soil's specific surface area. In the first season, all the measured eggplant growth and yield parameters were neither responsive to irrigation only, EFB-mulch only, or both. In the second and third seasons, the EFB20 and EFB40 treatments significantly (p < 0.05) increased leaf chlorophyll content index (LCCI), photosystem II (Fv/Fm ratio), absolute performance index (PIabs), TDMY, AIPAR, and RUE compared to the non-mulched control treatment. Soil pH was high in the EFB-mulched plots and correlated positively with TDMY and AIPAR. The I100 significantly improved LCCI, Fv/Fm, PIabs, and TDMY during the second season. In the third season, a highly significant interaction between irrigation and mulching was detected on TDMY, AIPAR, RUE, LCCI, Fv/Fm ratio, and pH (H2O). This indicated a positive effect on soil nutrient availability especially phosphorus as TDMY and AIPAR correlated with soil pH. The I100 and I40 significantly increased AIPAR by 48.1 % and 37.2 %, and RUE by 26.7 % and 11.0 %, respectively, compared to I0 during the third season. The total dry matter yield of the African eggplant was enhanced by EFB-mulch, with the effect increasing over up to three growing seasons, especially when combined with irrigation during dry periods.
KW - Climate change
KW - Empty fruit bunch mulch
KW - Irrigation
KW - Smallholder vegetable farmers
KW - Soil fertility
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202735303&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.eja.2024.127322
DO - 10.1016/j.eja.2024.127322
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85202735303
SN - 1161-0301
VL - 160
JO - European Journal of Agronomy
JF - European Journal of Agronomy
M1 - 127322
ER -