Ortiz Rios, Rodomiro Octavio
- Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Mounding, also known as earthing up, is widely carried out at any time during the growth cycle of Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdcourt, viz. bambara groundnut a species with underground pod setting by subsistence farmers throughout Africa. This agricultural practice consists of bringing soil to the crown of bambara groundnut plants and has been shown to improve seed yield of the crop. However, little information exists if and how the timing of mounding affects the productivity of the crop. To address this, two experiments during two consecutive years in rainfed fields in the SudanSahel agro-ecological zone of Burkina Faso were conducted. Yield data confirm the findings from a drier part of Burkina Faso; i.e., mounding of bambara groundnut should not be carried out around the time of flowering. In a semi-arid area, such as SudanSahel agro-ecological zone and with germplasm maturing within 90 days after sowing, mounding should be done early (about 2 weeks after sowing, WAS) or late (7 WAS) but not at 4 WAS, which coincides with the flowering period, as it reduces bambara groundnut seed yield.
Keywords
Africa; Burkina Faso; earthing up; grain legume; SudanSahel; sustainable development
Published in
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Soil and Plant Science
2013, volume: 63, number: 4, pages: 370-375
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS AS
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Agricultural Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2013.780092
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/53702