Effect of cultivars on the growth and yield of ginger in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in the wet seasons of 2018 and 2019 to study the effect of cultivar on the growth and yield of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Kafanchan in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The treatments consisted of three cultivars of ginger (China, UG1 and UG2) arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The parameters measured included number of shoots per plant, number of leaves per shoot, plant height, ginger fresh weight and ginger dry weight. Cultivar significantly affected the ginger fresh and dry weights, moisture content and plant height but did not have significant effects on the number of shoots per plant and number of leaves per shoot. The mean fresh and dry weights were 54.3 and 14.1 t/ha, 40.2 and 12.8 t/ha, and 27.0 and 8.4 t/ha for the China, UG1 and UG2 cultivars respectively. The China cultivar produced heavier fresh rhizomes than the UG₁ and UG₂ in both years of the study and the mean but this weight advantage did not reflect in the dry weight of the ginger especially when compared with UG₁. A further study is recommended to determine the pungency, aroma and oleoresin contents as well as market acceptability of the three ginger cultivars to enable a good recommendation to ginger farmers in the study area.