EFFECT OF PLANT SPACING AND MULCHING MATERIALS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF FLUTED PUMPKIN (TELFAIRIA OCCIDENTALIS) IN SOUTHERN GUINEA SAVANNA ZONE OF NIGERIA

Abstract

The effect of mulching materials and plant spacing on the growth and yield of fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) was studied in a field trial at the Research Farm of the Department of Agricultural Education, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu state, Nigeria during 2022 cropping season. The aim was to determine the suitable agronomic techniques for optimum yield of fluted pumpkin in Eha-Amufu. The treatments involved three mulching materials (black polythene, rice straw and zero mulch and three plant spacing (30cm x 30cm, 50cm x 50cm, and 100cm x 100cm). It was a 3 x 3 factorial combination of treatments laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The main plot treatment consisted of plant spacing at three levels designated as S₁, S₂, and S₃ while the three levels of mulch materials designated as M₁, M₂ and M₃ was assigned to the sub-plots. The results obtained from the experiment indicated that while there were no significant (P> 0.05) differences among the plant spacings and mulch materials evaluated on the vine length, number of leaves, and fresh leaf weight, planting fluted pumpkin at S₃ and mulching with M₂ consistently gave higher values for these traits. The interaction effect of S₃ plant spacing and M₂ significantly influenced the growth and yield attributes of fluted pumpkin than planting at the rest treatment combinations. For greater productivity of yield and yield components of fluted pumpkin, it is recommended that farmers in Eha-Amufu environment adopt the treatment combination of 100cm x 100cm plant spacing with biodegradable rice straw mulch material.