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Pyrethrum marc rates and intra-row spacing influence on selected soil chemical parameters and yield of bush bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.) grown on andosol under rainfed conditions
Abstract
Bush bean is an important pulse crop that enriches the Rwandan diet and is a source of cash. This staple crop is widely grown in Rwanda. However, the improper spacing and inadequate application rates of organic inputs result in low yields. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of intra-row-spacing and pymarc application rate on selected soil chemical parameters and bush bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris L) yield on andosol under rainfed conditions. The experiment included five pymarc rates with four replications in a randomized complete block design: P0(No fertilizer), P1(250 kg ha-1 of NPK), P2(10 t ha-1 of pymarc + 250 Kg ha-1 of NPK), P3(15 t ha-1 of pymarc + 250 Kg ha-1 of NPK) and P4(20 t ha-1 of pymarc + 250 Kg ha-1 of NPK) and 3 spacing levels: S1(40 cm x 15 cm), S2(40 cm x 20 cm) and S3(40 cm x 30 cm). The results indicated that a significant difference was found between treatments and their interactions except for pH (p<0.05). Regarding pymarc treatments, P4 contained greater amounts of organic C(5.30 %), total N(0.30 %), available P(56.70 ppm), available K(81.30 mg dm-3), exchangeable Ca(12.61 Cmol Kg-1) and Mg(5.0 Cmol Kg-1) at harvesting compared to P0 and P1. According to plant spacing, S3 held higher amounts of OC(4.85 %), av. P(55.15 %), av. K(60.94 mg dm-3), exch. Ca(11.0 Cmol Kg-1) and exch. Mg(3.6 Cmol Kg-1) than S1. There was an interaction effect of pymarc and spacing on measured soil chemical properties except for soil pH. The correlation analysis between nutrients was positive, highly significant (p<0.01), and varied from moderate to strong (0.4<r<0.7 and r>0.7) except pH. The treatment with the highest bush bean yield was P2S1 with 3.03 t ha-1 and therefore it can be recommended to bush bean farmers of the volcanic highland region.