Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 14(1): Published March, 2018 Haruna et al., 2018

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1 MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth IN MAIZE (Zea mays L.) USING HOST CROP TOLERANT VARIETIES AND NITROGEN FERTILIZER RATES IN NORTHERN GUINEA SAVANNA NIGERIA 1 Haruna, M., 2 Shebayan, J.A.Y., 2 Mani, H., 1 Namakka, A. and 1 Jibrin, D. M. 1 College of Agriculture, Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 2 Department of Agronomy, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria dahiru62@yahoo.com. ABSRACT Field trials were conducted in 2012 and 2013 wet seasons at Research Farm of Institute for Agricultural Research, Zaria and at Kudan Local Government Area in northern Guinea savanna, Nigeria to study mitigating the impact of Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth in maize (Zea mays L.) using host crop tolerant varieties and nitrogen fertilizer rates. The experiment consisted of four varieties of maize (SAMMAZ 11, SAMMAZ 14, SAMMAZ 20 and SAMMAZ 26) and four levels of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer (0, 40, 80 and 120 Kg N ha -1 ), with two levels of Striga (infested and uninfested) laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated three times. Results of this study shows that application of nitrogen at 120kgha -1 significantly reduced Striga count at 12 WAS, increased crop growth rate, number of cobs per plant, shelling percentage of maize and grain yield of maize. SAMMAZ 14 and 26 had significantly lower Striga count, higher crop growth rate, number of cobs per plant, shelling percentage and higher grain yield than the other varieties. Therefore, application of 120kgN ha -1 to SAMMAZ 14 and SAMMAZ 26 could serve as a means of mitigating the impact of Striga hermonthica on maize. Key words: Mitigating, impact, Striga hermonthica, maize varieties, nitrogen fertilizer. INTRODUCTION Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cereal and one of the most important food, feed and industrial crop in Nigeria. It is the most dominant grain crop in savanna zone (Onyibe et al., 2012). Nigeria produced about 11.3 million tons in 2013 making the biggest producer in Africa (FAOSTAT. 2014). Over fifty million farmers grow maize every year which over ninety million people are employed in its processing and usage daily. It provides energy, vitamins and some amount of protein (Onyibe et al., 2012). It is known as queen of cereals because it has the highest genetic yield potential among cereals (Anon. 2014). Despite the high yielding potential of this crop, maize yield in farmers fields is very low averaging about 1 to 2 tons ha -1 in contrast to the higher yield of about 5 to 7 tons ha -1 (Fakorede et al., 2003). The biotic and abiotic factors that constitute the major constraints to maize production are weeds (especially Striga hermonthica, nutrient deficiency particularly nitrogen and drought (Anon. 2004). Therefore, this study is carried out to investigate. The effect of Striga hermonthica on growth and yield of maize varieties, to evaluate the performance of maize varieties and the effect of N fertilizer on performance of maize and Striga hermonthica. MATERIALS AND METHODS The field trials were carried out in the rainy seasons of 2012 and 2013 at Teaching and Research Farm of Institute for Agricultural Research,, Zaria and in Kudan Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The land was harrowed and ridged and was then marked out into required plots sizes with 0.75m spacing between plot and replications. The gross plots comprised of six ridges each 75cm wide and 4m long (18m 2 ) and the net plot consisted of 4 ridges each of 4m long (12m 2 ). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated three times, it comprises of four varieties of maize (SAMMAZ 11, SAMMAZ 14, SAMMAZ 20 and SAMMAZ 26) and four nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 40, 80 and 120kgNha -1 ) with two levels of Striga (infested and uninfested). The Striga seed (25g) was mixed with 1kg of fine sandy soil to constitute the inoculant, and then 10g of it was applied per hill at planting. Two seeds were sown per stand at intra row spacing of 25cm and thinned to one plant per stand at 2 WAS. NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer was applied as first dose, where full dose of P and K and half dose of N were applied at 10 days after sowing and second dose of N was applied as par the varied treatments at 6 WAS using urea. Harvesting was carried out when the crop matured, when the husk turn yellow and grain harden enough. The ear from the net plots were harvested and dehusked, the cobs sundried, weighed and later shelled and winnowed to obtain clean grains. Data collected were on Striga shoot count, crop growth rate, number of cobs per plant, shelling percentage and grain yield. The data was subjected to analysis of variance as described by Gomez and Gomez (1984) and the treatment means were separated using Duncan s Multiple Range Test (Duncan, 1955). NJAFE VOL. 14 No. 1,

2 RESULTS The effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on Striga count at 12WAS of maize varieties are presented in Table 1. Each increase in nitrogen from 0 120kgNha -1 significantly decreased Striga shoot count except in the mean of both locations where control (0) and 40kgNha -1 gave statistically similar Striga shoot count. At both location and the mean, maize in the infested fields recorded significantly higher Striga shoot count than uninfested fields. Significant differences among the maize varieties on number of Striga shoot count were observed only at in both years. SAMMAZ 14 had significantly recorded the least Striga shoot count which was comparable only to SAMMAZ 26. Table 1: Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga inoculation on Striga count at 12 WAS of maize varieties at and during 2012, 2013 wet seasons and the mean a a 112.8a 82.4a 139.5a 110.9a b 137.0b 106.9a 75.1b 136.4b 105.8a c 48.4c 48.0b 48.8c 53.0c 50.9b d 29.0d 32.4c 43.8d 31.3d 37.5c SE ± Un-infested 0.0b 0.0b 0.0b 0.0b 0.0b 0.0b Infested 123.0a 177.2a 150.1a 125.0a 180.1a 153.5a SE ± SAMMAZ ab 87.8b SAMMAZ a 90.6a SAMMAZ bc 89.1ab SAMMAZ c 87.0b SE ± Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on crop growth rate of maize varieties are presented in Table 2. Each increase in nitrogen from 0 120kgNha -1 significantly increased crop growth rate of maize. There was no significant difference between maize in Striga infested fields and uninfested fields on CGR except at in 2012, where maize in uninfested fields gave significantly higher CGR than that in infested fields. The significant differences in CGR among maize varieties were only observed in 2013 at and 2012 at. At SAMMAZ 14 recorded significantly higher CGR than SAMMAZ 20 but statistically comparable to SAMMAZ 11 and 26, while at SAMMAZ 26 gave significantly highest CGR followed by SAMMAZ 14 and 20. Table 2: Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on crop growth rate of maize varieties at and Tashar during 2012, 2013 wet seasons and the mean d 2 2.2d 2.5d 2.4d 1.3d 1.9d c 8.9c 8.9c 8.2c 8.9c 8.6c b 20.7b 19.7b 17.8b 15.5b 16.7b a 25.8a 26.7a 20.9a 26.5a 23.7a SE ± Un-infested b Infested a SE ± NJAFE VOL. 14 No. 1,

3 SAMMAZ b ab SAMMAZ c b SAMMAZ a ab SAMMAZ a a SE ± N x S NS 3 NS NS NS NS NS N x 2 = Weeks After Sowing 3 = Not Significant Nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation effect on number of cobs per plant of maize varieties is shown in Table 3. Each increase in nitrogen application from 0 120kgNha -1 significantly increased number of cobs per plant except at in 2012 where 80 and 120kgNha -1 resulted in number of cobs that were statistically similar. Uninfested field significantly recorded higher number of cobs per plant than infested at in 2013 and the mean and at in 2012 and the mean. SAMMAZ 14 and 26 gave comparable but significantly higher number of cobs per plant than SAMMAZ 11 and 20, except at in 2012 where there was no significant differences. Table 3: Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on number of cobs per plant of maize varieties at and during 2012, 2013 wet seasons and the mean b 1 1.0d 1.0d 0.8d 0.8d b 1.1c 1.1c 1.0c 1.0c a 1.3b 1.3b 1.1b 1.2b a 1.4a 1.4a 1.3a 1.3a 1.3a SE ± Un-infested a 1.2a 1.1a a Infested b 1.1b 1.0b b SE ± SAMMAZ b 1.1b 1.0b 1.0b 1.0b SAMMAZ b 1.1b 1.0b 1.0b 1.0b SAMMAZ a 1.2a 1.1a 1.1a 1.1a SAMMAZ a 1.2a 1.2a 1.1a 1.1a SE ± N x Table 4 shows the effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on shelling percentage of maize varieties. At, significant differences in shelling percentage were observed only in 2013, where nitrogen rate at 120 and 40kgNha -1 gave comparable and highest shelling percentages but each statistically at par to 80kgNha -1. At significant differences on shelling percentage was observed in 2012 and the mean. Application of kgNha -1 resulted in statistically similar shelling percentage and each significantly higher than the control except in 2013 where 40kgNha -1 and control were statistically similar. The significant differences between uninfested and infested fields was observed at in 2013 and the mean, where maize in uninfested fields gave significantly higher shelling percentage than that in infested fields. Among maize varieties at in 2013, SAMMAZ 14 gave significantly highest shelling percentage than SAMMAZ 11 but was statistically similar to all other varieties. At in 2012 and the mean SAMMAZ 20 significantly recorded the least shelling percentage but statistically at par to SAMMAZ 11 and 14 in 2012 and SAMMAZ 11 in the mean. NJAFE VOL. 14 No. 1,

4 Table 4: Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga inoculation on shelling percentage of maize varieties at and during 2012, 2013 wet seasons and the mean b b b a ab a ab a a a a a SE ± Un-infested a 80.2a Infested b 76.8b SE ± SAMMAZ ab b b SAMMAZ b ab ab SAMMAZ ab a a SAMMAZ a ab a SE ± N x S NS NS 2 NS NS NS NS N x 1 = Means followed with the same letter(s) within same column and treatment group are not significantly different at 5% level of probability using DMRT The effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on grain yield of maize varieties is presented in Table 5. Application of nitrogen from 0 120kgNha -1 significantly increased grain yield of maize except at in 2012, where nitrogen at 80 and 120kgNha -1 were statistically similar. Striga infestation caused significant reduction in maize grain yield except at in 2013, where there was no significant difference. At location SAMMAZ 14 significantly recorded the highest grain yield which was comparable only to SAMMAZ 26 in 2012, at in 2012 SAMMAZ 14 and 26 significantly produced the highest grain yield than SAMMAZ 11 and 20, while in 2013 and the mean result, SAMMAZ 14 significantly recorded the highest grain yield than all the other varieties. Table 5: Effects of nitrogen fertilization and Striga infestation on grain yield of maize varieties at, Tashar Dauda during 2012, 2013 wet seasons and the mean c d d 812.8d d d b c c c c c a b b b b b a a a a a a SE ± Un-infested a a a a a Infested b b b b b SE ± SAMMAZ b b b b c c SAMMAZ b b b c c c SAMMAZ ab b b a b b SAMMAZ a a a a a a SE ± NJAFE VOL. 14 No. 1,

5 N x 1 = Means followed with the same letter(s) within same column and treatment group are not significantly different at 5% level of probability using DMRT DISCUSSION The results from the study showed that nitrogen fertilizer reduced Striga shoot count, higher application of nitrogen at 120kgNha -1 caused decreased in number of Striga shoot count which reduces the parasitism effect of Striga hermonthica. This suggests that Striga tends to affect crops where the fertility is low. This is in line with of Okonkwo (1991) who reported that application of high nitrogen fertilizer suppressed the severity of Striga while simultaneously increasing host yield. The least number of Striga shoot count recorded by SAMMAZ 14 than SAMMAZ 11, 20 and 26 could be attributed to lower released of stimulant which discouraged the germination of Striga. This exhibits the characteristic of SAMMAZ 14 as tolerant to Striga hermonthica. Similar finding was reported by Lagoke et al. (1996) that in pot experiment, 13 sorghum cultivars were evaluated for resistant to Striga hermonthica, cultivar SAR-24 Gambella-1107, N-13, ICSV-1007 were identified resistant to Striga compared to 169 and 161. The significant increase in CGR at high rate of nitrogen could be attributed to the role of nitrogen in suppressing the Striga and boosting the crop growth by increasing cell division activity in the crop. The highest crop growth rate and grain yield exhibited by SAMMAZ 14 could be attributed to it lower Striga shoot count, higher number of cobs per plant and genetic makeup of this variety. This was in line with earlier finding by Carsky et al. (2000) who reported that damage in maize can be reduced by growing varieties that are tolerant to Striga. High number of cobs per plant and higher grain yield recorded by nitrogen at 120kgNha -1 could be attributed to lower Striga shoot count and higher crop growth rate at this nitrogen level. Jaliya (2004) reported that application of 120kgNha -1 produced significantly higher grain yield than the other treatments. CONCLUSION Based on the results obtained, application of nitrogen at 120kgNha -1 and planting of SAMMAZ 14 on Striga infested fields could serve as a means of mitigating Striga hermonthica in northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. REFERENCES Anon Raw Materials Research and Development Council Report on Survey of Agro-Raw Materials in Nigeria on Maize. Maiden edition. pp Anon Flooding effects on corn Wisconsin Cora Agronomy. Corn Agronomy Wiscedel: /L0. Aspx. 58p Carsky, R. H., K., Beinel, B. D. Oyewole and Schulz, S Reduction of Striga hermonthica parasitism on maize using soybean rotation. International Journal of Pest Management, 46L: Duncan, D.B Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics, 11: 142. FAOSTAT Food and Agricultural Organization of United Nation (FAO) Statistics. Fakorede, M. A. B. Badu-Apraku B., Kamara A.Y, Menkir, A.and Ajala, S.O Maize Revolution in West and central Africa: An over view. In: Badu- Apraku B., Fakorede M. A. B., Ovedraogo M., Ccarsky R. J. and Menkir, A. (eds.) Maize revolution in West Africa. Proceeding of a Regional Maize Workshop, May, 2001, 11TA, Cotonou Benn Republic. WECAMAN/IITA, pp Gomez, K. A. and Gomez, A. A Statistical procedures for Agricultural Research, 2 nd Ed. John Wiley and Sons, New York, USA, ISBN 13: p. Jaliya, M. M Effect of sowing date and NPK fertilizer on growth and yield of quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) in northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria. Lagoke, S. T. O., Adagba, M. A., J. A. Y. Shebayan, W. B. Ndahi, B. A. Okusanya, S. M. Misari and Singh, B. N Evaluation of upland rice varieties oryza sativa (L.) for resistance/tolerance to Striga hermonthica (Del) Benth. Integrated Striga Management Technologies: from Research to farmers in Sub Saharan Africa Proceedings Fourth General Workshop, Pan-African Striga Control Network (PASCON) (In press). Bamako, Mali 28 October 1 Nov Okonkwo, S.N.C In vitro response of cultured germinated seeds of witch weed (Striga asiatica) In: Proceedings of the fifth International Symposium of parasitic Weeds. J.K. Ramson L.J. Musselman, A.D. Worsham and C. Parker (eds) Nairobi (CIMMYT. pp Onyibe, J.E., Sani, B.M., Bala. D., Chindo, H., Ibrahim, I.K and Malumfashi, M Maize production, marketing, processing and utilization in Nigeria. National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Services. Extension Bulleting, NO.217. NJAFE VOL. 14 No. 1,