CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Maize (Zea mays L) and Cucumber (Cucumis
sativum L.) are two important food crops in Nigeria as well as in other
parts of the world. Over the years maize has been useful as a food,
construction material and medicinal or decorative plant. With the industrial
development, it increasingly became an industrial raw material for the
production of starch, gluten, oil, flour, alcohol and lignocelluloses for
further processing into a whole range of products and by products. On the other
hand, cucumber is a major fruit vegetable that is eaten raw (in salad) or
cooked. It can also be put in vinegar; the crop serves as a major source of
vitamins for people in developing countries. (Ayotamuno, 2000).
Maize (Zea mays) is a member of the grass
family (gramincae). It originated from South and Central America The name maize
is derived from the South American Indian Arawak-Carib word mahiz. It is also
known as Indian corn or corn in America (Kochhar, 2006; Purseglove, 2002). Maize
was introduced in West Africa by the Portuguese in the 10th century,
in Nigeria, it was probably in the 16th century by the Portuguese (Osagie and
Eka, 2008). In Nigeria, maize is known and called by different vernacular names
depending on locality like ‘agbado’, ‘igbado’ or ‘yangan’ (Yoruba); ‘masara’ or
‘dawar masara’ (Hausa); ‘ogbado’ akpakpa or ‘oka’ (Igbo); ‘apaapa’ (Ibira);
‘oka’ (Bini and Isha); ‘ibokpot’ or ‘ibokpot union’ (Efik) and ‘igumapa’
(Yala).
Maize is one of the important grains in Nigeria, not
only on the basis of the number of farmers that engaged in its cultivation, but
also in its economic value. Maize is a major important cereal crop being
cultivated in the rainforest and the derived savannah zones of Nigeria. Maize
has been in the diet of Nigerians for centuries. It started as a subsistence
crop and has gradually become more important food crop. Maize has now risen to
a commercial crop on which many agro-based industries depend on as raw
materials (Iken and Amusa, 2004). Maize is highly yielding, easy to process,
readily digested and cost less than other cereals in terms of production. It is
also a versatile crop which is very popular the diet of Nigerians. It can be
grown across a range of agro ecological zones (IITA, 2001). It is an important
source of carbohydrate and if eaten in the immature state, provides useful
quantities of Vitamin A and C
. Maize thrives best in a warm climate and is grown in
most of the countries that have suitable climatic conditions. According to
Amusa (2005), maize is a warm weather crop and is not grown in areas where the
mean daily temperature is less than 19 ºC. Although the minimum temperature for
germination is 10 ºC, germination will be faster and less variable at soil
temperatures of 16 to 18 ºC. At 20 ºC, maize should emerge within five to six
days. The critical temperature detrimentally affecting yield is approximately
32 ºC. Excessive dew can damage maize at all growth stages and a dew-free
period of 120 to 140 days is required to prevent damage.
Maize is planted in the Forest zone for optimum yield.
The optimum planting date is betwee March and 1 April, although planting could
be done as soon as rainfall becomes steady. In the Derived Savannah zone, plant
as soon as the rainfall becomes steady. In the Southern eastern Nigerian zone,
planting could still be done as late as May and June, depending on rainfall. Late
season maize is recommended only for areas where rainfall is likely to be
adequate. Seed rate for maize is 25 kg/ha for open pollinated varieties, 15
kg/ha for Hybrids. Approximately 10 to 16 kg of grain are produced for every
millimetre of water used. At maturity, each plant will have used 250lt of water
in the absence of moisture stress.
The most suitable soil for maize is one with a good
effective depth, favourable morphological properties, good internal drainage,
an optimal moisture regime, sufficient and balanced quantities of plant
nutrients and chemical properties that are favourable specifically for maize
production. Although large-scale maize production takes place on soils with a
clay content of less than 10 % (sandy soils) or in excess of 30 % (clay and
clay-loam soils), the texture classes between 10 and 30 % have air and moisture
regimes that are optimal for healthy maize production. In the context of this
work, the soil content is 12% of sandy soil and 35% (clay and clay-loam soils),
the texture is between 15 and 35%. It has air and moisture regimes.
Several methods can be used to determine yield
potential, each with its own limitations. One of the most reliable methods is
long-term yield data collected by each individual producer, as this reflects
inherent yield of the specific environment, as well as the effect of agronomic
practices such as fertilisation, soil cultivation and plant population,
managerial abilities of the producer.
On the other hand, cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a
member of the Cucurbitaceae family, is native of Asia and Africa, where it has
been consumed for 3,000 years. It is a popular fresh market vegetable in salads
and also is processed into kim chee and oriental-type pickles in Hawaii. In
Nigeria, over 60% of local production is in Jos, Plateau state, Kaduna and
Zamfara. The crop is susceptible to serious losses from such pests as whitefly,
the melon fly, leafminers, mosaic viruses, and to soil-borne and foliar
diseases. Production volumes are 40-50% lower during the mid-rainy season when
diseases are more prevalent. The pickling-type cucumbers, grown for processing
in the continental U.S., are not grown to a large extent in Hawaii. In Nigeria,
the popular specie produced include pickling-type, burpless-type and Slicing-type cucumbers are mainly produced.
Historically, cucumber is believed to be native to India, and
evidence indicates that it has been cultivated in Western Asia for three
millennia. The cucumber is also listed among the products of ancient Ur and the
legend of Gilgamesh are described as people eating cucumbers (Juma, 2009).
Some sources also state that it was produced in ancient Thrace (southeast
Europe) and it is certainly part of modern cuisine in Bulgaria and
Turkey,
parts of which make up that ancient state. From India, the
cucumber spread to Greece
(where it was called “vilwos”) and Italy (where
the Romans were especially fond of the crop), and later into China. The fruit
is mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 11:5) as having been freely available in Egypt, even
to the enslaved Israelites: We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt
freely/the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the
garlic. The Israelites later came to cultivate the cucumber themselves.
Cucumber was introduced in Nigeria during
colonisation. It was probably introduced in Nigeria by the Portuguese. Since
then, cucumber has being an important fruit vegetable with great economic
potentials, as medicinal plant and source of industrial raw materials. Cucumber
is a dependable laxative food for those who suffer constipation. The juice of
cucumber is a valuable medicinal food in the treatment of hyperacidity gastric
and duodenal ulcers (Ernestina, 2001).
Cucumber grow well in a sandy-loamy soil. Cucumber require
a warm climate. In cool temperate countries, it is grown in greenhouses; only
during early rainy season and late rainy season. The optimum temperature for
growth is about 260 - 30°C and the optimum night temperature
18–21°C; the minimum temperature for good development is 15°C. High light intensity
is needed for optimum yields. Cucumber and maize need a fair amount of water
but it cannot stand water logging. Low relative humidity results in high plant
evaporation due to the large leaf area, and sufficient irrigation is then very
important. High relative humidity facilitates the occurrence of downy mildew.
In tropical Africa elevations up to 2000 m appear to be suitable for cucumber
cultivation. In Nigeria, cucumbers are grown majorly in the North particularly
Jos; due to the climatic requirements. However, according to the research
conducted at the department of soil Science University of Nigeria (2011) shows
that cucumber can grow anywhere giving the right production method and
management of the environmental factor. Currently the crop is doing well at
Technology and Vocational Education Agricultural demonstration farm in Ebonyi
State University where the researcher is carrying out a performance evaluation
of cucumber and maize production using organic and inorganic manure.
Cereal-legume cropping plays an important role in
subsistence food production in both developed and developing countries,
especially in situations of limited water resources. Cropping of either cereal crop
alone or legume crops helps maintain and improve soil fertility and plays an
important role in subsistence food production in developing countries because
farmers cannot afford inorganic fertilizers. Legumes fix atmospheric nitrogen,
which may be utilized by the host plant or may be excreted from the nodules
into the soil and be used by other plants growing nearby (Takim, 2012). Legumes
can also transfer fixed Nitrogen (N) (Andrew, 2009).
An understanding of crop nutrient requirement and the
use of best fertilizer are important keys to growing healthy and profitable
cucumber and maize crops. Cucumbers do not perform well in acid soil but do
well under soil that have slight acidity. The optimum pH is 5.5 – 7.0 (Uguru 2011).
Valenzuela, Hanna, and Adams. (2005) recommended that if the soil pH is below
5.8, there is need for application of about 95kg/acre, of agricultural lime
8-12 weeks before planting.
Climatic problem is one of the major growing condition
for optimum performance. Poor climate problem will result in less fruit being
produced and bitter tasting cucumber (Huxdy, 2002). Although chemical
fertilizer promotes healthy, robust plant growth and give high yield there is a
point at which it become toxic and retard plant growth and fruit production. To
prevent the toxicity of soil caused by fertilizers and to overcome droopy of
the plant, a characteristic symptom of overuse of fertilizer, alternatives to
the use of inorganic fertilizers should be developed, hence the evaluation of
the use of animal dung and NPK 15 15 15 fertiliser in the current study by the
researcher. This alternative should be environmentally friendly, readily
available and cheap for a common farmer. It is against this background that the
researcher that the researcher sought to ascertain performance evaluation of
maize and cucumber using organic and inorganic manure
Statement of
the Problem
Low soil fertility is one of the bottlenecks to
sustainable agricultural production in Nigeria. Also, anthropogenic factors
such as inappropriate land use systems, monocropping, nutrient mining and
inadequate supply of nutrients have been factors responsible for low
productivity of food crops in the country. Cucumber and maize are among the
crops that suffer casualty of this problem. This has led to the scarcity of food
and vegetable crops in the market especially cucumber and maize.
As the application of manure seem to be the only
remedy to this ugly trend, there is still controversy over the type of manure that
could be used for optimum yield. There are two types of manure available to
farmers. These include; organic and inorganic manure. Also, most of the farmers
complain of lack of finance for buying inorganic fertiliser and as a result of
that, most of them have refused to go into cucumber and maize production. It is
therefore imperative to carry out a performance evaluation on cucumber and
maize using organic and inorganic manure. This will help in determining the
best manure to be used to improve the production of maize and cucumber in
Nigeria and in Ebonyi state in particular since majority of the farmers are subsistent
farmers
