Green Global
Foundation   Journal
...an emerging window for scientific research and publication across the globe

EFFECTS OF Arbuscular mycorrhizal FUNGUS (AMF) INNOCULATION AND WATER REGIMES ON CASHEW (Anarcadium occidentale L) SEEDLINGS PERFORMANCE IN IBADAN, SOUTHWESTERN, NIGERIA (Pages : 1 - 8)

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a tough herbaceous perennial plant that grows well in tropical America, Asia, and Africa where favorable climatic conditions promote economic development. In ecological settings where other woody crops cannot, it thrives. Despite the resilience of cashews against adverse weather conditions, the recent outcry and complaints from cashew farmers in growing communities in Nigeria indicate that large numbers of cashew seedlings are dying off especially in areas that are drier during the year. This is due to the on- going drought and high temperatures caused by global climate change. These indeed pose a lot of threats to the livelihood of farmers and the economy of the Nigerian country, so systematic research intervention is needed to develop an indigenous technology that is environmentally friendly, quickly accessible and most importantly affordable to poor farmers. Base on this backdrop, a screen house experiment was set up to evaluate the effect of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) inoculation and water regimes on cashew (Anarcadium occidentale L.) seedlings establishment in Ibadan, South western, Nigeria. The experiment was a 3 × 3 × 2 factorial consisting of eighteen treatment combinations replicated three times thereby making a total number of 54 experimental units, laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD). The results showed that the cashew biotypes responded positively but differently to the varying water regimes and Arbuscular fungus inoculation treatments. The jumbo Cashew biotype (C1), inoculated with Mycorrhizae (M1) and treated with water at 80% field capacity (F3), produced the highest number of leaves throughout the study periods. Cashew biotypes (C1F1M0; C2F1M0 and C3F1M0) with the least water treatment (i.e., 40% field capacity) and without Mycorrhizae inoculation however, produced the lowest number of leaves per plant. Similarly, pots that were inoculated with Mycorrhizal in combination with water regime applied at 80% field capacity significantly (p< 0.05) enhanced plant height (cm); stem thickness; leaf area (cm2) and number of branches produced by the cashew seedlings.Download