Influence of nitrogen and lime on the morphological and reproductive attributes of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (l.) Moench) in Calabar
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Abstract
A field experiment was carried out during the early planting season (March - June) of 2010 at Calabar to evaluate the response of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) variety NHAE 47-4, to four rates of nitrogen (0, 40, 80 and 120kg/ha) and three rates of lime (0, 500 and 1000kg/ha). The treatment combinations were factorized and laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Increasing nitrogen rates significantly increased morphological and reproductive attributes of okra up to the 80kg/ha rate but not beyond. Lime application significantly influenced plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, stem girth and yield attributes. The number of pods/plant, fresh weight of pod (g) and total fresh pod yield (t/ha) at 80kg N/ha rate were 62.84, 124.81 and 288.36%, respectively higher than the control. Total fresh pod yield was highest at 500kg/ha lime rate which was 87.13 and 23.84% higher than the zero and 1000 kg/ha rates, respectively. Significant interactions were recorded between nitrogen and lime for reproductive attributes. Reproductive attributes such as fresh weight of pod and total fresh pod yield, peaked with the combination of nitrogen and lime at 80kg/ha and 500kg/ha while number of pods/plant was maximized with the combination of 80kg N/ha and 1000 kg/ha lime rate. The total fresh pod yield obtained with the combination of 80 kg N/ha and 500kg/ha lime was more than seven times of that obtained at the control.
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