Abstract
Quantification of soil organic carbon cycling as impacted by soil and crop man- agement practices is required for C storage and soil quality improvement investi- gations. This study assessed the short-term effect of conventional tillage (CT) and No-Tillage (NT) practices on SOC sequestration and yield of cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta). The experiment was conducted simultaneously at two lo- cations (06◦52' N, 07◦15' E and 06◦ 26' N; 07◦16' E) in southeast Nigeria. A Ran- domized Complete Block Design with five replications and four treatments com- prised of CT and NT, respectively, with 150 and 300 Kg ha-1 of NPK 15:15:15, was used. Soil quality attributes were measured at two soil depths (0-20 cm and 20-40 cm) in both locations and analyzed. The results indicated that the quantity of carbon sequestered in the soil at 0-20 cm soil depth for both sites was 46.7- 90.9 and 65.0-117.9 Mg ha-1, respectively, for the two planting seasons in NT plots treated with 300 Kg ha-1 of NPK. This was followed by NT plots treated with 150 Kg ha-1 of NPK, which sequestered 55.5-86.2 and 46.7-91.9 Mg ha-1 SOC. CT plots that received 300 Kg ha-1 NPK with 11.3-47.6 Mg/ha SOC had 44% and 28% lower stored SOC when compared to NT, NPK 150 Kg ha-1 plots for the two-planting season respectively. This indicates that CT practices signifi- cantly limit SOC sequestration. CT with 300 Kg of NPK 15:15:15 gave the high- est corm yield, followed by No-till with 300 Kg ha-1. A better edaphic condition provided by CT was compensated for by higher doses of N fertilizer in NT Plots
Keywords:
prised of ct and nt
respectively
with 150 and 300 kg ha-1 of npk 15:15:15
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