Biochar effect on nematodes and insects population density, soil improvement and yield of Okra.

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) is an economically valuable crop in Ghana for its culinary significance and income generation potential. Agricultural production worldwide is constrained by abiotic and biotic factors.

Osei, K.; Adama, A. L.; Tagoe, E. C.; Sackey-Asante, J.

2020

English

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) is an economically valuable crop in Ghana for its culinary significance and income generation potential. Agricultural production worldwide is constrained by abiotic and biotic factors. Chemical fertilizers are usually used to solve soil infertility problems. However, chemical fertilizers are expensive and when applied continuously, degrade agricultural lands (Savci, 2012; Bhattacharyya et al., 2015). Biotic factors such as plant parasitic nematodes (PPN) and foliar insects have been implicated as major constraints to okra production (Asare-Bediako et al., 2014b). The attack of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) has been reported as the most serious, widespread and alarming which causes tremendous yield losses (Hussain et al., 2011; Kayani et al., 2013; Barros et al., 2014). Flea beetle (Podagrica spp.) is the most important insect pest of okra in Ghana and Nigeria (Obeng-Ofori & Sackey, 2003; AsareBediako et al., 2014a, Mobolade et al., 2014). It has been estimated that insect pests attack led to great reduction in okra yield (Echezona & Offordile, 2011). Management interventions such as crop rotation, antagonistic plants, biocontrol agents, host resistance, soil amendments and chemicals usage have routinely been employed to minimize plant parasitic nematodes and insects’ infestation (Mukhtar et al., 2013). Chemical usage has been identified as the most efficient management strategy (Mall et al., 2018). However, the deleterious effects of chemical strategy on man and the environment discount any benefits the strategy might import. Okra does not do well on infertile soil and is highly susceptible to root-knot nematodes infection (Hussain et al., 2014). The use of carbonized materials such as biochar in food production could contribute to the sustainability of crop husbandry. According to Sokchea et al., (2013), incorporating rice husk biochar in a loam soil increased yields of rice grain by 30%