Éditeur(s) : University of West Indies, Barbados Université des Antilles. Service commun de la documentation
Extrait de : 52e congrès annuel de la Société caribéenne des plantes alimentaires / 52nd annual meeting of the Caribbean food crops society (CFCS), du 10 au 16 juillet 2016. INRA, CFCS
Description : Practical uses for Sargassum are sought regionally as our coastlines continue to be flooded by sargassum blooms floating ashore. This study investigated the potential benefits of Sargassum (Sargassum spp.) mulch in sweet potato production at Golden Ridge, St. George, Barbados, during a drought period (November 2015-March 2016). Treatment consisted of combinations of two cultivars of sweet potato (?E? and ?CBS 32?, main-plots) and washed/unwashed Sargassum mulches (sub-plots) of different ages (approximately 4 weeks old and fresh, sub-sub-plots) with four replications. Sargassum mulch was applied to the furrows of plots (6m2) four weeks after planting at a rate of 10 t ha-1 and yield, growth and soil parameters were monitored at periodic intervals. Yield (t ha-1) was highest for the 4-weeks old Sargassum mulch treatment, and the number of marketable tubers was highest for the unwashed 4-weeks old Sargassum treatment. The number of tubers with Euscepes postfaciatus (Scarabee) pest damage was decreased by the Sargassum mulch treatments especially for the 4-weeks old unwashed Sargassum. Vine growth was taller for cultivar ?E? and for the washed Sargassum treatments. Chlorophyll indices were higher in ?CBS 32? than in cultivar ?E? and were lower in Sargassum treated plots. Moisture content in the top 10cm of soil was consistently low and greater in plots of cultivar ?E? than in those of ?CBS 32?. There appears to be some potential for the use of aged Sargassum mulches for improving growth, pest management and yields of sweet potato and further investigations are needed.
Siècle(s) traité(s) : 21
Permalien : http://www.manioc.org/fichiers/V16270