TY  - JOUR
T1  - Improvement in yield and chemical composition of sweet potato for livestock feeding through tillage and fertilizer application
AU - , O.A. Olorunnisomo AU - , A.E. Salami AU - , I.O.A. Adeleye 
JO  - Agricultural Journal
VL  - 1
IS  - 4
SP  - 206
EP  - 210
PY  - 2006
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1816-9155
DO  - aj.2006.206.210
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=aj.2006.206.210
KW  - Sweet potato
KW  -root crop
KW  -tillage
KW  -fertilizer
KW  -livestock feeds
KW  -dry matter
KW  -biomass
KW  -chemical composition
AB  - The effects of soil tillage and fertilizer application on yield and chemical composition of sweet potato (<I>Ipomoea batatas</I> (L) Lam) grown for livestock feeding during the dry season was investigated. The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Ibadan. A split plot design was used with tillage as the main plot factor and fertilizer application as sub plot factor. The four treatments namely; tilled, fertilized (TF); tilled, not fertilized (TNF); not tilled, fertilized (NTF); not tilled, not fertilized (NTNF, control) was replicated three times. Yield and chemical composition of the root was determined. Residual forage and biomass production were also measured. There were significant differences (P &lt; 0.05) in dry matter yield of the root, residual forage, and biomass production of sweet potato (SP) among treatments. Root yield was 7.8, 4.4, 4.4 and 3.4 t ha<SUP>-1</SUP>; residual forage, 7.5, 5.1, 5.9, and 4.3 t ha<SUP>-1</SUP>; and biomass production, 15.3, 9.5, 10.3 and 7.6t ha<SUP>-1</SUP> for TF, TNF, NTF and NTNF respectively. The treatments had no significant (P &gt; 0.05) effect on chemical composition of SP root although there was a slight improvement in crude protein (CP) content and a reduction in fibre components of the root with fertilizer application. Tillage and fertilizer application had equal influence on root yield of SP but when forage yield is considered, fertilizer application seemed to be more beneficial to the crop than tillage. The best economic returns from SP grown for livestock feeding were realized when both cultural practices were combined.
ER  -