Optimizing Production of Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.) Varieties through Nutrients Management and Intra-Row Spacing at Kano, Sudan Savanna, Nigeria

Abstract

Field trials were conducted in 2017 and 2018 rainy seasons at Teaching and Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Bayero University Kano (Lat: 110 58' N and Long: 8◦33' E, 475 m above sea level) situated in the Sudan Savanna ecological zone of Nigeria. The study was made to evaluate the performance of two varieties of Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.) (Yar-Madina and Ex–Ajiwa) to integrated nutrient and intra-row spacing. The objectives of the trials were to determine the effect of integrated poultry manure (PM) and inorganic fertilizer rates, and the appropriate pumpkin intra-row spacing for optimum growth and yield of pumpkin. Treatments comprised of six levels of integrated nutrients as shown below; Untreated control (N1), NPK at 120:60:60 kg (N2), PM at 15 t ha-1(N3), NPK at 30:15:15 kg + PM at 10 t ha-1(N4), NPK at 60:30:30 kg + PM at 5 t ha-1(N5) and NPK at 60:30:30 kg + PM at 10 t ha-1(N6), three intra-row spacing (100, 150 and 200 cm) and two varieties (Yar-Madina and Ex–Ajiwa) of pumpkin. The experiment was laid out in Split-Split Plot Design (SSPD) replicated three times with varieties allocated to the main plot while the spacing and the integrated fertilizer were assigned to the sub and the sub-sub plots, respectively. Based on the results of this experiment application of integrated nutrient at N4, N5 and N6 had significant edge over sole inorganic fertilizer at N2 or PM at N3. The results also showed that pumpkin intra-row spaced at 200 cm recorded significantly higher growth and yield characters and the varieties are similar with respect to almost all the parameters evaluated.