Effects of Increasing Doses of NPK Fertilizer (17-17-17) on Nursery Initiation of Pennisetum purpureum Schum. (Poaceae) and Organic Tillage on Degraded Soil, Kisangani

Abstract

Our study was initiated to evaluate the effects of increasing doses of 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 actual conditions in Kisangani on an area of 42.9 m². The agronomic parameters observed included the rate of resprouting of cuttings, the tillering index of 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 related to agroforestry experiments.

The results showed that organo-mineral fertilization used in the nursery beds, under the conditions of our trials, clearly influenced rhizogenesis and the metabolic activity of the vegetative apparatus of the nursery sprouts. This suggests that a residual effect related to the nutrient content of the plant material would accompany the transplanting of well-fed nursery offshoots into the field. And the application of NPK, under the conditions of use defined during our experiments, clearly influenced the root density nor the soil-root interface.