Response of Raphia Hookeri to Nitrogen and Potassium Fertilizer in Fresh Water Swamp Environment at Onuebum, Nigeria.

Response of Raphia hookeri to nitrogen and potassium fertilizer in fresh water swamp environment at Onuebum, Nigeria.                                                   

                                                     by

Ogeh, J.S.¹, Imogie, A.E.², Ugbah, M.M.³ and Udosen, C.V.⁴

¹Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City, Edo

   State, Nigeria. e-mail: joseph.ogeh@uniben.edu

²Agronomy Division, Nigerian Institute for Oil palm Research, (NIFOR), Benin City, Edo

   State, Nigeria. e-mail: imogieaustin@yahoo.com

³Extension and Economics Department, Nigerian Institute for Oil palm Research, (NIFOR),

    Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. e-mail: mmugbah@yahoo.com

⁴Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Akwa Ibom State University of  

    Science and Technology, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

    e-mail: vincent2005@yahoo.com

Abstract

         Nitrogen and potassium are very important plant nutrients in palm cultivation both in the nursery and on the field. There is paucity of information on nutrient requirement of Raphia palms in the field. Based on this field experiment was carried out to find the response of Raphia palm to N and K fertilizer in fresh water swamp environment in Onuebum, Bayelsa State, Nigeria from 2004 to 2013. The experiment was a 4 x 4 factorial arrangement fitted into Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated four times. The treatments were four rates of N at 0, 0.5 1.0 and 1.5 kg and K at 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 kg per palm per year respectively. There were a total of sixteen treatment combinations. Result showed that the combination of N and K applied each at 1.0 kg / palm / year gave highest number of flowered palm/hectare, number of healthy green leaf, number of spadices opened at tapping and was significantly different (p ≤ 0.05) from other treatment combinations. Highest percentage of flowered palm (88.5%), number of green leaf cut (7%), duration of tapping (95%) and palm wine production of 1,630 litres / palm was also obtained with a combination of N and K applied each at 1.0 kg / palm / year. However, the least percentage of flowering palm (55.3), number of green leaf cut (3), duration of tapping (55) and palm wine production (496) litres   / palm / year) was obtained from the control which indicated response of applied fertilizer. N and K fertilizers markedly affected Raphia palm yield components and palm wine production over the control.

In conclusion, economic yield was obtained with the combination of N and K at 1.0 kg/palm/year. Any addition of N and K below or above this level brought no more yield returns to the farmer.

Key words: Raphia hookeri, Nitrogen and Potassium fertilizer, Fresh water swamp 

                   environment,  palm wine yield, tapping.