Samaila AA, Amans EB, Babaji BA
Field experiments were conducted during 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 dry seasons at Shika in the Northern Guinea Savanna zone of Nigeria. The treatments consisted of mulching (No mulch, ricestraw mulch and black polythene mulch), nitrogen rates (0, 45, 90 and 135 kg/ ha-1) and irrigation interval (5, 10 and 15days). These treatments were arranged in a split-plot design with nitrogen and irrigation in the main plot and mulching in the sub-plot. Mulching significantly increased fruit yield, fruit diameter and firmness over the no-mulched treatment. Fruits from plants mulched with polythene were firmest with less unmarketable fruits yield. The application of 90kgN ha-1 produced higher fruit yield than the control by 115%, 87% and 82% in 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07 respectively. The highest fertilizer rate of 135 kg N/ha-1 produced the highest yield of unmarketable fruits except in 2005/06 when all the fertilizer rates produced similar unmarketable fruit yields. Increasing the irrigation interval from 5 to 10 days significantly increased fruit diameter and reduced the number of unmarketable fruits while the 15-days interval enhanced fruit firmness.
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