Abstract:
The Guinea savannah zone
of Nigeria is beset by increasing
population and infrastructural development,
thereby putting pressure on
available land with rapidly declining
fertility due to low organic matter content,
soil erosion, high temperature and seasonal
bush burning. Sesame is cultivated in
this zone and the yield has remained very
low, compared to yield in other parts of
the world. This could be attributed to poor
nutrient status and poor cultural practices
used by peasant farmers. A field experiment
was conducted at the Teaching and
Research Farm, University of Ilorin,
Nigeria, in a southern Guinea savannah
zone in 2015 and repeated in 2016 cropping
season to determine the effects of
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), a
plant growth regulator and NPK fertilizer
on the growth and yield of sesame. The
experiment was laid out as a factorial
arrangement, fitted into a randomized
complete block design replicated thrice.
The factors imposed were 2,4-D (0, 5 and
10 ppm ha-1) and NPK 15:15:15 (0, 100,
200 and 300 kg ha-1). Data were collected
on vegetative traits (plant height, number
of leaves, leaf area) and yield components
(number of capsules per plant; yield per
plant and per hectare). The data were
subjected to analysis of variance
(ANOVA) using the Genstat statistical
package 17th edition and significant means
were separated by using the least
significant difference at 5% level of
probability. The result revealed that using
plant growth regulator and NPK fertilizer
had significant effects (p<0.05) on plant
height (151 cm) and yield per hectare
(530 kg/ha). The qualitative and quantitative
analysis of the seeds further
reaffirmed the presence of bioactive
compounds, such as saponins, tannins,
flavonoids and phenolic compounds,
which are important health promoting
food in the seeds.
