ISHS Acta Horticulturae 158: X African Symposium on Horticultural Crops
EFFECTS OF NITROGEN AND HEDGE ROW SYSTEMS ON THE YIELD AND QUALITY OF TUNG NUTS |
| Author: | I. M.G. Phiri |
| Abstract:
Aleurites fordii and Aleurites montana are the two tung species which are grown in Malawi for the production of tung oil. The response of clone G.69 (A. montana spp) to three systems of hedge row cultivation (Sp) and five levels of nitrogen (N) was investigated in a split plot experimental design. The differences in yield due to hedge row systems were not statistically significant. The yields, however, increased significantly with an increase in the rate of N application but were observed to level off after an addition of 105 kg N ha-1. Yield differences due to the first order interaction (Sp x N) were significant in the seventh and ninth years of production. Laboratory investigations showed that free fatty acid content, gelation time and refractive index were not affected by both the hedge row systems and N levels. The single row hedge, however, had nuts with the highest oil content. The practical significance of these observations have been discussed in this paper. | |
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