Groundnut is an important crop grown by smallholder farmers in West Africa for both domestic and market consumption. In groundnut cultivation, earthing up, or covering the plant's base and lower nodes with soil, is a common practice. However, there is no consistent evidence about its economic benefit. From 2016 to 2018, a three-year experiment was conducted to assess the benefits of earthing up and establish the best time to do so to increase groundnut yield, thus filling a knowledge gap in the region. The experiment was set up in a split-plot design, with the planting arrangement as the main plot (ridge vs flatbed planting) and the timing of earthing up as the subplot. The earthing up timing was divided into ten treatments, ranging from no earthing up (control) to earthing up at 70 days after planting. Data was collected on the number of matured pods per plant, dry pod yield, dry haulm yield, shelling percentage, and 100 seeds weight. The results for the time of earthing up revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in dry pod yield and dry haulm yield except in 2017. Similarly, for the number of matured pods per plant, 100 seeds weight, and shelling percentage, there was no statistically significant difference between times of earthing up except for 100 seeds weight in 2018 and shelling percentage in 2017 and 2018. The individual years and combined analyses across years revealed no statistically significant difference between the main plots for all the five traits. The combined analysis for the times of earthing up showed a significant difference only for shelling percentage. Therefore, in the Sudan Savanah agro-climatic conditions of the semi-arid tropics of West Africa, earthing up may not be economically beneficial during a typical rainfall season with appropriate planting time. Instead, it could raise production costs, reducing the profit.
Citation: Haile Desmae, Dramane Sako, Djeneba Konate. Impact of earthing up on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) pod yield and its components[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2022, 7(3): 614-622. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2022038
Groundnut is an important crop grown by smallholder farmers in West Africa for both domestic and market consumption. In groundnut cultivation, earthing up, or covering the plant's base and lower nodes with soil, is a common practice. However, there is no consistent evidence about its economic benefit. From 2016 to 2018, a three-year experiment was conducted to assess the benefits of earthing up and establish the best time to do so to increase groundnut yield, thus filling a knowledge gap in the region. The experiment was set up in a split-plot design, with the planting arrangement as the main plot (ridge vs flatbed planting) and the timing of earthing up as the subplot. The earthing up timing was divided into ten treatments, ranging from no earthing up (control) to earthing up at 70 days after planting. Data was collected on the number of matured pods per plant, dry pod yield, dry haulm yield, shelling percentage, and 100 seeds weight. The results for the time of earthing up revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in dry pod yield and dry haulm yield except in 2017. Similarly, for the number of matured pods per plant, 100 seeds weight, and shelling percentage, there was no statistically significant difference between times of earthing up except for 100 seeds weight in 2018 and shelling percentage in 2017 and 2018. The individual years and combined analyses across years revealed no statistically significant difference between the main plots for all the five traits. The combined analysis for the times of earthing up showed a significant difference only for shelling percentage. Therefore, in the Sudan Savanah agro-climatic conditions of the semi-arid tropics of West Africa, earthing up may not be economically beneficial during a typical rainfall season with appropriate planting time. Instead, it could raise production costs, reducing the profit.
| [1] | FAOSATAT, statistical data base. (2021) Rome: Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations. 2021. Available from: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL. |
| [2] | Wagh VD, Deore BR (2015) Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF): An Overview. Adv Life Sci Health 2: 1–14. Available from: https://www.nutriafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Come-si-usa-un-RUTF.pdf. |
| [3] | Ndjeunga J, Ibro A, Cisse Y, et al. (2010) Characterizing village economies in major groundnut producing countries in West Africa: Cases of Mali, Niger and Nigeria. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Available from: https://www.icrisat.org/what-we-do/impi/projects/tl2-publications/research-reports/rr-gn-niger-mali.pdf. |
| [4] | Nigam SN, Aruna R, Giri DY, et al. (2006) Obtaining sustainable higher groundnut yields: Principles and practices of cultivation. Information Bulletin No. 71. Patancheru 502 324, Andhra Pradesh, India: International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Available from: http://oar.icrisat.org/3217/. |
| [5] | Cilliers AJ (2021) Groundnut Production: A Concise Guide. ARC Grain Crops Institute, Potchefstroom. Available from: https://www.arc.agric.za/arc-gci/Fact%20Sheets%20Library/Groundnut%20Production.pdf. |
| [6] | Okello DK, Monyo E, Deom CM, et al. (2013) Groundnuts Production Guide for Uganda: Recommended Practices for Farmers. National Agricultural Research Organisation: Entebbe, Uganda. Available from: https://narogroundnut.org/publication/groundnuts-production-guide-for-uganda-recommended-practices-for-farmers/. |
| [7] | Nigam SN (2014) Groundnut at a glance. ICRISAT, Patancheru. Available from: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/8455. |
| [8] | Thilini S, Pradheeban L, Nishanthan K (2019) Effect of different time of earthing up on growth and yield performance of groundnut (Arachis hypogea) varieties. J. Dry Zone Agri 5: 16–25. |
| [9] |
Ahmad N, Zada A, Ali A, et al. (2015) Effect of earthing up procedure on enhancement in yield of different groundnut varieties planted under agro-climatic conditions of Malakand division. J Agric & Environ Sci 4: 181–184. http://dx.doi.org/10.15640/jaes.v4n1a22 doi: 10.15640/jaes.v4n1a22
|
| [10] | Prasad MVR, Muralidharudu Y (1991) Calcium uptake in relation to pod development in aerial podding genotypes of groundnut. In: Groundnut-a global perspective, (Ed: Nigam, SN) ICRISAT, AP, 464. Available from: https://core.ac.uk/display/12102590. |
| [11] | Mvumi C, Washaya S, Ruswa C (2018) The effects of planting methods on growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) cultivar natal common in Africa South of the Sahara. Int J Agron Agri Res 13: 1–9. Available from: https://innspub.net/ijaar/effects-planting-methods-growth-yield-groundnut-arachis-hypogaea-cultivar-natal-common-africa-south-sahara/. |
| [12] | Jat RS, Meena HN, Singh AL, et al. (2011) Weed management in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in India–A Review. Agri Rev 32: 155–171. Available from: https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/FullTextPDF/2011/20113350123.pdf. |
| [13] | Sanogo O (2016) Early generation selection for drought related traits in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Mali. PhD Thesis, University of Ghana. |
| [14] | Agnew CT, Chappell A (1999) Drought in the Sahel. Geo J 48: 299–311. Available from: https://www.academia.edu/65499787/Drought_in_the_Sahel. |
| [15] |
Vadez V, Halilou O, Hissene HM, et al. (2017) Mapping water stress incidence and intensity, optimal plant populations, and cultivar duration for African groundnut productivity enhancement. Front Plant Sci 8: 432. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00432 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00432
|
Haile Desmae, Dramane Sako, Djeneba Konate. Impact of earthing up on groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) pod yield and its components[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2022, 7(3): 614-622. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2022038
DownLoad: