Results (
Thai) 1:
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2. Material and MethodsThe trial was conducted during the 2006/07 day seasons at Shika (110 12’, 7o33’E and 610m above sea level) inthe Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. The soil was silt-loam with samples taken randomly at 30cm depthbefore the trial and analyzed for physico-chemical properties (Table 1).Treatments consisted of three mulch types (no mulch, rice-straw mulch and black polythene mulch), fournitrogen fertilizer rates (0.45, 90 and 135kg ha-1) and three irrigation intervals (5, 10 and 15days). They werearranged in a split plot design with factorial combinations of nitrogen and irrigation in the main plot andmulching in the sub-plot, and replicated three times.The land was harrowed and prepared into sunken beds of 3.75 x 3m (11.25m2) separated by 0.75m irrigationchannels. All beds received an equivalent of 20 and 37kg ha-1 of P and K during land preparation. The blackpolythene mulch was laid over the entire bed and water was applied over it to make it stick. Transplanting holesof 60cm spacing were then punched and six weeks old seedlings UC-82B variety of tomato were thereafterplanted into the holes and covered with sand. Rice-straw 5cm thick was laid to cover all the open spaces in thestraw treatments. All fertilizer treatments received and equivalent of 45kgN ha-1 in form of Urea one week aftertransplanting, and the remaining doses as per treatment requirement were applied in split applications at threeand six weeks after transplanting.All plots were uniformly watered by flooding of basins for the first two weeks after which the irrigation intervaltreatment was imposed. Weeds were controlled using hoe in the bare plots while they were hand pulled in thestraw-mulched plots.Tomato fruits were harvested when ripe and five fruit samples were taken from each plot, made into a paste andanalyzed for:2.1 Dry matter contentThe five fruit samples were made into a paste and weighed before being oven dried at 105oC. The moisturepercentage was then determined by the difference in weights before and after oven drying. The balance was thefruit dry matter percentage (A.O.A.C., 1980).2.1.1 Crude fiber contentThis was determined by subjecting the sample paste to simultaneous acid-base treatments, cooled in a desiccatorand weighed to determine the percentage crude fiber content (A.O.A.C., 1980).2.1.2 Protein contentThe protein content was determined by the Kjeldahl method. The sample was mixed with sulphuric acid in thepresence of a catalyst to digest the organic matter present. Ammonia was then liberated after distillation proteinwas calculated as CP = 6.25 x %N (A.O.A.C., 1980).2.1.3 Percent CarbohydrateCarbohydrate is the nitrogen free extract and was calculated as NFE – 100 – (Crude protein +moisture + Crudefiber).(A.O.A.C.,1980)The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis and means were compared using Duncan’s MultipleRange Test (Duncan,1955).
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