Effects of Increasing Doses of Auxins (A.I.A.) and NPK Fertilizer (17-17-17) on Nursery Initiation of Pennisetum purpureum Rejects and Biological Tillage on Degraded Soil, Kisangani

Abstract

Our study was initiated to evaluate the effects of increasing doses of auxins (A.I.A.) and NPK fertilizer (17-17-17) on nursery initiation of Pennisetum purpureum shoots and organic tillage on degraded soil, in Kisangani.

The crop was installed under real conditions in Kisangani on an area of 42.9 m². The agronomic parameters observed were the rate of cuttings recovery, the tillering index of the shoots, the soil-root interface under the emerging grass stand and the dynamics of earthworms.

We adopted a randomized complete block design, following the provisions for agroforestry experiments.

Results showed that organo-mineral fertilization of the seedling beds under the conditions of our trials clearly influenced rhizogenesis and metabolic activity of the vegetative apparatus of the nursery seedlings. This suggests that a residual effect related to the nutrient content of the plant material would accompany the transplantation of well-fed nursery offshoots into the field. And the application of auxins and NPK, under the conditions of use defined during our experiments, did not clearly influence the root density nor the soil-root interface.