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    Effects of earthworm casts on crop production

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    Date
    2001-04
    Author
    Asawalam, D.O.
    Hauser, S.
    Type
    Journal Article
    Target Audience
    Scientists
    Metadata
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    Abstract/Description
    Greenhouse and field studies were conducted to determine the effect of earthworm casts on the production of maize and cowpea. In pot experiments with mixtures of soil and casts, shoot and root dry matter (OM) of maize and cowpea increased with increasing proportion of casts. Shoot OM of cowpea and root OM of maize increased significantly when worm casts were applied to the soil surface but not when the casts were mixed with the soil. Under field conditions, maize grain yield increased by 73%, 114%, and 180% over the control (without worm casts) when 50 t ha-1, 100 t ha-1, and 150 t ha-1 of casts were applied, respectively. At the 150 t ha-1 rate, a significantly higher maize grain yield was maintained over two cropping seasons. The study demonstrated that earthworm casts are an important resource that can be harnessed for increased crop production.
    Permanent link to this item
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12478/4359
    Non-IITA Authors ORCID
    Stefan Hauserhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6329-7783
    Research Themes
    NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
    IITA Subjects
    Cowpea; Crop Systems; Farming Systems; Maize; Plant Production
    Agrovoc Terms
    Earthworms; Maize; Cowpeas; Crop Yield; Nigeria; Crop Production
    Regions
    Africa; West Africa
    Countries
    Nigeria
    Journals
    Tropical Agriculture
    Collections
    • Journal and Journal Articles4835
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