Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers

Spinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable crop in Zimbabwe, so the agronomic performance is unknown. A 3-year field experiment was done at the Seke Teachers College research farm, Zimbabwe. The research evaluated the response of baby spinach to different types of organic...

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Main Authors: C. Parwada, V. Chigiya, W. Ngezimana, J. Chipomho
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:International Journal of Agronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8843906
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author C. Parwada
V. Chigiya
W. Ngezimana
J. Chipomho
author_facet C. Parwada
V. Chigiya
W. Ngezimana
J. Chipomho
author_sort C. Parwada
collection DOAJ
description Spinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable crop in Zimbabwe, so the agronomic performance is unknown. A 3-year field experiment was done at the Seke Teachers College research farm, Zimbabwe. The research evaluated the response of baby spinach to different types of organic manure sources, days after fertilizer application (DAS), and growing season. A 3 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with three replicates was used. Baby spinach cultivar, Dash, was grown on three organic manures (goat applied at 14.894 t ha−1, cattle at 17.789 t ha−1, and poultry at 13.807 t ha−1) in winter 2018, 2019, and 2020. Compound D (7% N, 14% P, and 7% K) at 300 kg ha−1 was included as a control. Crop growth rate, leaf area index, leaf area ratio, net assimilation rate, total dry matter production, and harvest index were measured on 7-day intervals from 14 to 35 days after transplanting. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effects of the treatments on the baby spinach growth parameters was done. Significant p<0.05 interactions on the type of organic manure × DAS × growing season were observed on all the measured response variables. There were varied effects of organic manures on growth performance at 14 to 28 DAS where poultry manure had higher growth performance compared to cattle and goat manure. Generally, there was a significant p<0.05 gradual increase in growth from 14 to 35 DAS on the organic manures and a decline from day 28 to 35 DAS under compound D. Low quality (large C/N) cattle and goat manure had lower effects than high quality (small C/N) poultry manure at early growth stages of the baby spinach. Unlike compound D, organic manure continuously supplied adequate nutrients throughout the life cycle (35 DAS) of the baby spinach.
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spelling doaj-art-bb232ebb6cb24efebcc92b012c2262502025-02-03T05:52:26ZengWileyInternational Journal of Agronomy1687-81591687-81672020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88439068843906Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic FertilizersC. Parwada0V. Chigiya1W. Ngezimana2J. Chipomho3Marondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Department of Horticulture, P.O. Box 35, Marondera, ZimbabweMarondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Department of Horticulture, P.O. Box 35, Marondera, ZimbabweMarondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Department of Horticulture, P.O. Box 35, Marondera, ZimbabweMarondera University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Department of Horticulture, P.O. Box 35, Marondera, ZimbabweSpinacia oleracea L. (baby spinach) is a relatively new leaf vegetable crop in Zimbabwe, so the agronomic performance is unknown. A 3-year field experiment was done at the Seke Teachers College research farm, Zimbabwe. The research evaluated the response of baby spinach to different types of organic manure sources, days after fertilizer application (DAS), and growing season. A 3 × 2 factorial in a completely randomized block design (CRBD) with three replicates was used. Baby spinach cultivar, Dash, was grown on three organic manures (goat applied at 14.894 t ha−1, cattle at 17.789 t ha−1, and poultry at 13.807 t ha−1) in winter 2018, 2019, and 2020. Compound D (7% N, 14% P, and 7% K) at 300 kg ha−1 was included as a control. Crop growth rate, leaf area index, leaf area ratio, net assimilation rate, total dry matter production, and harvest index were measured on 7-day intervals from 14 to 35 days after transplanting. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) to compare the effects of the treatments on the baby spinach growth parameters was done. Significant p<0.05 interactions on the type of organic manure × DAS × growing season were observed on all the measured response variables. There were varied effects of organic manures on growth performance at 14 to 28 DAS where poultry manure had higher growth performance compared to cattle and goat manure. Generally, there was a significant p<0.05 gradual increase in growth from 14 to 35 DAS on the organic manures and a decline from day 28 to 35 DAS under compound D. Low quality (large C/N) cattle and goat manure had lower effects than high quality (small C/N) poultry manure at early growth stages of the baby spinach. Unlike compound D, organic manure continuously supplied adequate nutrients throughout the life cycle (35 DAS) of the baby spinach.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8843906
spellingShingle C. Parwada
V. Chigiya
W. Ngezimana
J. Chipomho
Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
International Journal of Agronomy
title Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
title_full Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
title_fullStr Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
title_full_unstemmed Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
title_short Growth and Performance of Baby Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Grown under Different Organic Fertilizers
title_sort growth and performance of baby spinach spinacia oleracea l grown under different organic fertilizers
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8843906
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AT wngezimana growthandperformanceofbabyspinachspinaciaoleracealgrownunderdifferentorganicfertilizers
AT jchipomho growthandperformanceofbabyspinachspinaciaoleracealgrownunderdifferentorganicfertilizers