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Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone

Received: 18 April 2019     Accepted: 13 June 2019     Published: 9 July 2019
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Abstract

Okra is a very important vegetable in the field of nutrition and health care in Sierra Leone. The major limiting factors in okra production are incidence of insect pests and improper plant spacing. The present field research was undertaken at the Department of Crop Protection, School of Agriculture, Njala University to evaluate the effect of plant spacing on insect pest population, growth and yield, and profitability of okra production in Sierra Leone from 2017 to 2018 main cropping seasons. Five levels of plant spacing 50 cm × 40 cm (50,000 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 30 cm (55,556 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 40 cm (41,667 plants per hectare), 70 cm × 30 cm (47,619 plants per hectare), and 70 cm × 40 cm (35,714 plants per hectare) were adopted as treatments with three replications in randomized complete block design. The results of analysis of variance revealed that plant spacing were significant (P < 0.05) on insect population, plant height, leaf area, damage leaves, yield and yield components of okra at 4 and 8 weeks after planting (WAP) during 2017 and 2018 main cropping seasons. Okra cropped in plant spacing 50 cm x 40 cm (Recommended rate) inclined the highest number of insects, plant height, leaf area, damage leaves and yield at 4 and 8 WAP in both years followed by 60 cm x 40 cm plant spacing, while the reverse also holds true with 70 cm x 40 cm plant spacing. The profitability analysis revealed that the recommended plant spacing of okra (50 cm x 40 cm) produced the highest gross margins of Le 18,333,000.00 plants per hectare (ha-1) and Le 21,363,000 plants per hectare (ha-1) respectively during 2017 and 2018 main cropping seasons of okra production. In conclusion, increasing the plant spacing above the recommended plant spacing (50 cm x 40cm) could reduce insect population and leaf damage on okra, but will significantly decrease okra growth and yield, and profitability. Hence, in order to achieve maximum productivity of okra in the Njala area, the Clemson spineless variety of okra should be planted at a plant spacing of 50 cm x 40 cm. However, integrating plant spacing with other cultural methods of controlling insect pests of okra should be investigated in order to determine a sustainable and cost-effective method of controlling insect pests of okra.

Published in American Journal of Entomology (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14
Page(s) 49-55
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Okra Production, Insect Pest, Plant Spacing, Gross Margin, Growth and Yield

References
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[2] J. Duvauchelle (2011). "Okra Nutrition Information". LiveStrong. com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
[3] F. G. Habtamu, R. Negussie, D. H. Gulelat, Z. W. Ashagrie, B. Fekadu (2014). Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus): A Review. Food Science and Quality Management Vol. 33: 87-96.
[4] R. P. Sharma, R. Swaminathan, and K. K. Bhati (2010). Seasonal incidence of fruit and shoot borer of okra along with climatic factors in Udaipur region of India. Asian Journal of Agricultural Research, 4: 232-236.
[5] O. A Dada and O. O. Fayinminnu (2010). Period of weed control in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] as influenced by varying rates of cattle dung and weeding regimes. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca 38: 149-154.
[6] P. Pedersen (2008). Effect of plant density and cultivar on growth and yield of soybean. Australian J. Applied Sci., 4 (8): 48-53.
[7] Feleafel and Ghoneim (2005), who reported that increasing plant density per m2 was accompanied with progressive and significant reductions in number of branches, number of leaves and leaf area per plant.
[8] H. Mohammad, A. Hossein, A. Atefe, and F. Hamide (2012). Effect of plant density and nitrogen fertilizer on growth, yield and fruit quality of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). University of Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran. http://www.academicjournals.org/AJAR. Accessed on January 23, 2013.
[9] F. M. Renato (2011). Evaluation of varieties and cultural practices oof okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) for production in Massachusetts.
[10] L. G. Ekwu, and G. N. Nwokwu (2012). Effect of plant spacing and planting date on the growth and yield of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L) in abakaliki. Int’l J. Agric. Rural Dev. 15 (2): 1041-1048.
[11] M. Lyon, P. Unah, and F. Fanen (2010). Response of okra to intra row spacing in Makurdi, Nigeria. Agric. & Bio. J. North-America, 1 (6): 1328-1332.
[12] Z. A. Firoz, M. A. Islam, M. Mohiuddin, and M. M. Rahman (2007). Yield and yield attributes of okra as influenced by planting time and plant spacing in hill slope condition. Progressive Agric., 18 (2): 67-73.
[13] H. Zibelo, K. W/tsaddik, and J. J. Sharma (2016). Effect of Inter-And Intra-Row Spacing on Growth and Yield of Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench] at Humera, Northern Ethiopia. Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare.
[14] E. O. Ajayi, I. B. Adeoye, and O. A. Shittu (2017). Economic analysis of intercropping okra with legumes. Journal of Agricultural Sciences Vol. 62, No. 2, Pages 193-20.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Johnny Ernest Norman, Dan David Quee, Philip Jimia Kamanda, Alusaine Edward Samura. (2019). Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone. American Journal of Entomology, 3(2), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14

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    ACS Style

    Johnny Ernest Norman; Dan David Quee; Philip Jimia Kamanda; Alusaine Edward Samura. Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone. Am. J. Entomol. 2019, 3(2), 49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14

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    AMA Style

    Johnny Ernest Norman, Dan David Quee, Philip Jimia Kamanda, Alusaine Edward Samura. Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone. Am J Entomol. 2019;3(2):49-55. doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14,
      author = {Johnny Ernest Norman and Dan David Quee and Philip Jimia Kamanda and Alusaine Edward Samura},
      title = {Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone},
      journal = {American Journal of Entomology},
      volume = {3},
      number = {2},
      pages = {49-55},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aje.20190302.14},
      abstract = {Okra is a very important vegetable in the field of nutrition and health care in Sierra Leone. The major limiting factors in okra production are incidence of insect pests and improper plant spacing. The present field research was undertaken at the Department of Crop Protection, School of Agriculture, Njala University to evaluate the effect of plant spacing on insect pest population, growth and yield, and profitability of okra production in Sierra Leone from 2017 to 2018 main cropping seasons. Five levels of plant spacing 50 cm × 40 cm (50,000 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 30 cm (55,556 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 40 cm (41,667 plants per hectare), 70 cm × 30 cm (47,619 plants per hectare), and 70 cm × 40 cm (35,714 plants per hectare) were adopted as treatments with three replications in randomized complete block design. The results of analysis of variance revealed that plant spacing were significant (P -1) and Le 21,363,000 plants per hectare (ha-1) respectively during 2017 and 2018 main cropping seasons of okra production. In conclusion, increasing the plant spacing above the recommended plant spacing (50 cm x 40cm) could reduce insect population and leaf damage on okra, but will significantly decrease okra growth and yield, and profitability. Hence, in order to achieve maximum productivity of okra in the Njala area, the Clemson spineless variety of okra should be planted at a plant spacing of 50 cm x 40 cm. However, integrating plant spacing with other cultural methods of controlling insect pests of okra should be investigated in order to determine a sustainable and cost-effective method of controlling insect pests of okra.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Influence of Plant Spacing on Insect Population, Growth and Yield of Okra in Sierra Leone
    AU  - Johnny Ernest Norman
    AU  - Dan David Quee
    AU  - Philip Jimia Kamanda
    AU  - Alusaine Edward Samura
    Y1  - 2019/07/09
    PY  - 2019
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14
    T2  - American Journal of Entomology
    JF  - American Journal of Entomology
    JO  - American Journal of Entomology
    SP  - 49
    EP  - 55
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2640-0537
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aje.20190302.14
    AB  - Okra is a very important vegetable in the field of nutrition and health care in Sierra Leone. The major limiting factors in okra production are incidence of insect pests and improper plant spacing. The present field research was undertaken at the Department of Crop Protection, School of Agriculture, Njala University to evaluate the effect of plant spacing on insect pest population, growth and yield, and profitability of okra production in Sierra Leone from 2017 to 2018 main cropping seasons. Five levels of plant spacing 50 cm × 40 cm (50,000 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 30 cm (55,556 plants per hectare), 60 cm × 40 cm (41,667 plants per hectare), 70 cm × 30 cm (47,619 plants per hectare), and 70 cm × 40 cm (35,714 plants per hectare) were adopted as treatments with three replications in randomized complete block design. The results of analysis of variance revealed that plant spacing were significant (P -1) and Le 21,363,000 plants per hectare (ha-1) respectively during 2017 and 2018 main cropping seasons of okra production. In conclusion, increasing the plant spacing above the recommended plant spacing (50 cm x 40cm) could reduce insect population and leaf damage on okra, but will significantly decrease okra growth and yield, and profitability. Hence, in order to achieve maximum productivity of okra in the Njala area, the Clemson spineless variety of okra should be planted at a plant spacing of 50 cm x 40 cm. However, integrating plant spacing with other cultural methods of controlling insect pests of okra should be investigated in order to determine a sustainable and cost-effective method of controlling insect pests of okra.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Crop Protection Department, School of Agriculture, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone

  • Njala Agricultural Research Centre, Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute, Njala, Sierra Leone

  • Department of Extension and Rural Sociology, School of Agriculture, Njala University, Njala, Sierra Leone Email address:

  • Njala Agricultural Research Centre, Sierra Leone Agricultural Research Institute, Njala, Sierra Leone

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