Abstract:
The reduction in number and sizes of orchards, poor husbandry practices which cause declining
productivity as farms age and complications from pests and disease-causing organisms limit
plantain production in Nigeria. The rehabilitation and pests / disease control should be
emphasized rather than the normal practice of opening up new sites when plantain orchards
decline sets in. This requires a package of agronomic practices with which to sustain plantain
yields. A moribund plantain orchard on the Teaching and Research Farm, Ekiti State University,
Ado-Ekiti was used for a rehabilitation study. The experiment was a randomized complete block
design with three replicates of eight treatments established at 2.5 x 2.5 m spacing. The treatments
consisted of pared and non-pared control, pared and non-pared with 600 kg.ha-1 NPK 15-15-15
fertilizer, pared and non-pared with 30 MT.ha-1 poultry manure and compost mixture, pared and
non-pared with fertilizer plus the compost and poultry manure mixture. General good
management practices such as proper field sanitation, removal of dry old leaves and pests
infested plantain stumps and pseudo-stems after harvest and pruning of emerging plantain
suckers were also maintained to prevent and control the identified pests prevalent in the area;
particularly the pseudo-stem borer (Odoiporus longicollis). Data were collected on plant height,
plant girth, leaf area, and number of functional leaves, number of fingers per hand, number of
hands per bunch and bunch yield. Pared suckers with compost + poultry manure mixture
treatment gave the best performance in terms of pseudo-stem height and girth, number of leaves
and leaf area. Also, the combination of pared suckers, fertilizer and compost + poultry manure
mixture produced the highest bunch yield. Hence, rehabilitation of moribund orchards with the
use of clean planting materials as well as the adoption of good routine management practices like
proper field sanitation, removal of dry old leaves and pests infested plantain stumps and pseudo-stems after harvest and periodic pruning of emerging suckersis a suggested alternative to the
abandonment of orchards by farmers. |
