A Framework for perfomance of field pea (pisum sativum l.) under different population densities: a case of Mlichi, Hurungwe district, Zimbabwe

Author

Kondo, Evance T.

Title

A Framework for perfomance of field pea (pisum sativum l.) under different population densities: a case of Mlichi, Hurungwe district, Zimbabwe

Abstract

Field pea (Pisum sativum) is one of the most important grain legume crops in Zimbabwe. The experiment was conducted on the effect of plant density on growth yield and yield parameters of field pea cultivar, Green feast in 2023 cropping season at Pelele Farm in Mlichi, Karoi. Three intra row spacing (10cm, 15cm and 20cm) and three inter row spacing (30cm, 45cm and 60cm) were evaluated using one variety, Green feast on a plot size of 24.5m x 11m (269.5m2). The experiment was carried out in a Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) with nine treatments replicated three times. Genstat Release 16.1 Copyright 2013, VSN International Ltd, computer software package was used to compute the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Planting spacing had no significant effect (p=0.142) and (p=0.655) on plant height and pod length respectively. The overall highest grain yield (3.124tonnes/ha) was recorded when Green feast was planted in 45cm x 15cm followed by grain yield of (2.936tonnes/ha) under 45cm x 20cm and the lowest grain yield (1.811tonnes/ha) was obtained in 60cm x10cm. Based on the experiment results, the farmer can use a spacing of 45cm x 15cm for best yields in Mlichi Farming Area.

Date

OCTOBER 2024

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

field pea

Green feast

Grain yield

Grains per pod

Pods per plant

Intra row spacing

Population densities

Inter row spacing

Supervisor

Prof Mandumbu