Year 2016 Seminar Presentations

Soil Fertility Assessment of some Cocoa Plantations in Five local Government Areas of Cross River State, Nigeria

Ibiremo, O. S., Iloyanomon, C.I1.,Oloyede, A.A.2  and  Lawal,  J.O.3

1Soils and Plant Nutrition section, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria.
2Agronomy section, Cocoa Research Institute ofNigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria
3Economic and statistic section, Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria


  Abstract
Ten cocoa farms with declining productivity in five Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Cross River State were selected for rehabilitation activities. The LGAs were Akpamkpa, Ikom, Etung, Boki and Obudu of which Yaunde (Ikom), Agbokim  waterfall (Etung) and Orimekpang (Boki) which are high cocoa producing areas, while Begiaba (Obudu) and New Ndebiji (Akamkpa) are medium cocoa producing areas.  Each farm was divided into four blocks with eight sampling points and soil samples were collected at soildepths of 0-15cm, 15-30cm and 30-45cm. Similarly, leaf samples were taken from the tree under whose canopy the soil samples were taken. The soil and leaf samples were processed and analyzed for some oftheir nutrient contents using standard laboratory procedures. Results indicated that soils of New Ndebiji and Orimekpang contained 0.65 and 0.71gkg-1 soil total N. These values are below the critical value for cocoa production. Hence, nitrogen fertilizer will be necessary in these two farms. Similarly, potassium and phosphorus were deficient in all the cocoa farms evaluated in the five LGAs. However, soil pH,organic carbon, base saturation and CEC fell within the acceptable range for cocoa production. Leaf N, P and K followed the trend of soil results. The fertilizer computation based on the nutrient composition of the soils indicated that Begiaba (Obudu) farm will require 41kg P2O5/ha  and 188kg K2O/ha with no nitrogen fertilizer,  New Ndebiji (Akampka) farm will need 23kgN/ha, 27kgP2O5 and211 K2O/, Agbokim-waterfall (Etung) will require 41kg P2O5/ha and 188kg, Yaunde (Ikom) 94kg P2O5/ha and 272kg K2O/ha, while Orimepang (Boki) requires 18kgN/ha, 23kgP2O5 and 13 K2O/ha. Non-acid forming fertilizers particularly organic based will be appropriate to achieve optimum productivity.
Keywords: Cocoa, soil fertility, Cross River State, productivity, fertilizer

EFFECTS OF NEMATODE MANAGEMENT OPTIONS IN THE REHABILITATION OF MORIBUND COCOA (Theobroma cacao L.) FARMS IN SOUTH WESTERN NIGERIA

By
Okeniyi, Michael O.

ABSTRACT
Losses due to nematodes are often difficult to assess, since small reduction in yield may pass unnoticed. Yields are commonly reduced by up to 30% per year. The study was carried out to evaluate the effects of nematode management options in the rehabilitation of two moribund cacao plantations at Owena and Ibadan using organic materials that included Cocoa Pod Husk (CPH) and Neem Leaf powder (NL). Initial soil sampling was done to determine the types, frequency of occurrence and population levels of plant-parasitic and other nematodes associated with old cacao plantation at the two locations. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design in four replicates with eight treatments which were CPH, CPH+NL(80:20), CPH+NL(90:10), CPH+Carbofuran (C), CPH+NL(80:20)+C, CPH+NL(90:10)+C, Carbofuran only and untreated. Soil samples were taken at 25 cm depth and assayed for nematode using tray modification of the Baermann technique. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for nutrients at 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 months after treatment applications. Cost benefit analysis for profitability was done using fixed and variable cost. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance at P<0.05, means were separated using Least Significant Difference using SAS 9.3 Edition. Results showed that Nematodes genera identified in Ibadan were Meloidogyne, Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus, Paralongidorus, Eutylenchus, Scutellonema, Hemicyclophora, Xiphinema, Longidorus, and Anguillulina. The most widely occurring was Meloidogyne spp with the frequency of 67%, followed by Anguillulina spp. (50%) and Paralongidorus spp. (33%). Three additional nematode genera identified in Owena were, Psilenchus, Tetylenchus and Heterodera. Meloidognye spp. was most predominant in Owena soil with a frequency of 75%, followed by Hemicycliophora  and Eutylenchus  with a frequency of 33 and 25% respectively. Organic amendments significantly (p<0.05) reduced the population of parasitic nematodes in the two locations when compared to carbofuran and the untreated control i.e. over the period of sampling. Cocoa bean yield after the first year of application showed that CPH+Carbofuran and CPH had the highest percentage of yield increase over the control (97.5% and 96.2%) respectively in Ibadan. In Owena, the yield for 2012 showed that CPH, CPH+NL(80:20), CPH+NL(90:10), CPH+Carbofuran, CPH+NL(80:20)+C, CPH+NL(90:10)+C  and Carbofuran alone had percentage increase of 88.8, 83.3, 79.2, 64.5, 61.7 and 28.6 respectively over the control. Organic materials had significant (p<0.05) effect in raising the soil pH and nutrient in the two locations from 5.38 to 6.82 in Owena and from 6.00 to 6.82, compared to untreated soil. Cost benefit analysis revealed the profitability to the costs of the treated plot over the control in both locations with CPH plot having the highest Average Rate of Returns. It is concluded that nematode management through the use of CPH and NL organic amendments in the rehabilitation technique not only reduced parasitic nematode populations below the damage threshold, and also improved soil nutrients, increased cocoa bean yield and income from the two plantations. Nematode management control option using CPH should be included in the rehabilitation methNo

November, 2016 Seminar Presentation

Tea Research in Nigeria: Achievements, Impacts and Future focus

R.R. Ipinmoroti, A.R Adedeji, S.O. Aroyeun, A.A. Oloyede, K.A Oluyole, M. A. Daniel B.A. Adebowale,, I. Ndagi, O.S.O. Akanbi, S.A. Adeosun, O.O. Olaniyi, A.T. Yahaya, and E. Agbebaku

 Abstract

Attempt was made to provide the background information on tea (Camellia sinensis L.)  research efforts at Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) with the intention to highlight the technologies developed to date. Effort was geared towards showing the impacts of the research achievements on stakeholders, current research efforts and the future research focus towards sustainable tea production in Nigeria. Research efforts have resulted to initial introduction of 23 clone materials and another 70 China lowland tea clones, their characterization, genetic improvement for their adaptability and improvement for higher tea yield. Pests management, good agricultural practices and soil management techniques for sustainable tea production have been developed. New tea products for enhanced income and the dissemination of new innovations to appropriate stakeholders have been achieved. The use of identified commercial tea clones and the adoption of organic based fertilizers have enhanced better tea yield by more than 45%. Responsive chemical control for pests, adoption of good agricultural practices and the practice of Tea/Arable and Tea/Eucalyptus intercrops have helped to optimize the use of scarce land resources. Lowland tea cultivation has helped to increase land area under tea plantation, while adoption of cottage green tea processing has reduced tea leaf transportation cost and loss. Current research efforts center on encouraging educated youths into tea farming, discouraging blanket fertilizer application and encouraging organic fertilizer use. Efforts on shade crop effect on tea seedling establishment, identifying emerging insects/diseases and their control measures before reaching economic threshold Farmers are being sensitized through radio jingles to adopt developed technologies and encourage them to form cooperative groups for ease of accessing credit facilities. Future research efforts would focus on improving the genetic base of lowland tea clones for quality assurance, develop eco-specific fertilizers and establish model tea plots in lowland areas. Further value addition for increase tea consumption and to intensify the sensitization of farmers through radio programmes to encourage formation of tea farmers’ associations, produce manuals for farmers on tea cultivation and processing. There would be regular survey and updates on insects and diseases of tea across agro-ecologies.

Keywords: Challenges, farmers, optimal production, Survey, tea