EFFECT OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION REGIMES AND SOIL AMENDMENT STRATEGIES ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF GARDEN EGG (Solanum aethiopicum)

Abstract

In Northern Ghana, water required for food production has decreased due to land degradation and climate change. The increased demand for water and drought condition affects water required for food production and poor soil fertility and directly influenced food production Therefore, improved soil amendment strategies together with water management are required for improved crop production, especially in drought prone areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil amendment techniques and different irrigation regimes on garden egg growth and yield. The research was conducted at the WACWISA experimental field at the University for Development Studies, Nyankpala Campus. The study was a 3 × 4 factorial pot experiment laid out in a split-plot design with 3 replications. The treatments comprised three (3) irrigation regimes namely, full irrigation (FI100), regulated deficit (RD70) and sustained deficit (SD70) on the main plots and three (3) soil amendments techniques namely; biochar (B), Poultry manure (PM) and combination of biochar and poultry manure (PMB) and the control on the sub-plots. The physicochemical properties of the soil were determined at the laboratory before and after the experiment. The results showed that the soil of the area was sandy loam with dry bulk density ranged from 0.94 - 1.43 g/cm3 , field capacity (FC) ranged from 18-25 %, permanent wilting point (PWP) ranged from 7 -10%, organic carbon (OC), 2.71 – 4.1% and pH and electrical conductivity (EC) were between 4.9- 6.8 and 1.23 – 6.23 dsm-1 respectively before and after amending the soil. The crop water requirement was 699.36 mm/season, 593.31 mm/season, and 490.05 mm/season for FI100, and SD70 respectively. Application of FI100 with soil amended with B and PM combined resulted in the tallest plant height (79.33 cm) and stem diameter (14 mm) whereas the application of SD (70 %) in soil without B or PM resulted in lowest plant height (23 cm) and stem diameter of (4.0 mm). Yield ranged from 10.54 to 27.27 ton/ha with the highest yield recorded in the pot treated with the combination of B and PM under FI100. The highest WUE was recorded in the pot treated with the combination of B and PM under RD70 (4.82 kg/m3 ) while lowest WUE (0.98 kg/m3 ) was recorded in soil without PM or B application under FI100 condition (100 % CWR). The study indicated that, combination of biochar and poultry manure improved soil physical and chemical properties compare to single application. No significant difference observed in application of organic fertilizer (B and PM) under (FI100), and RD70 on growth and yield of garden egg while, application of (B and PM) under RD70 improved WUE compare to other treatment.