Effect of Spacings on the Growth and Yield of Bambara Groundnut (Vigna Subterrananea (L) Verde.) in Asaba Delta State (Published)
A field experiment was conducted at Teaching and Research Farm of Delta state University, Asaba Campus to study the effect of spacing on the growth and yields of Bambara groundnuts. The design was randomized complete block replicated three times. The spacing were 15×30 cm, 25×30 cm, 35×30 cm and 45×30 cm giving a plant population densities of 22,222, 13,333, 9,524 and 7,407 plants/ha, respectively. Results indicated that the number of pods plants-1 and grain yield/ha-1 of Bambara groundnuts increased with increased planting density. The study showed that Bambara groundnuts performed better at high densities for growth and yield than low densities. Plants with population density of 22,222 plants/ha (15×30 cm) had the best yield (3920 kg/ha), followed by 13,333 plants/ha (25×30 cm) with the yield of 3768kg/ha and the least 7,407 plants/ha population density (45x30cm) with yield of 2478kg/ha. It is recommended that Bambara groundnut should be planted at a spacing of 15 x 30 cm in a rain forest zone of Asaba, Delta State for maximum productivity.
Keywords: Bambara groundnut, Population, Yield, rainforest, spacing