Incorporation of Melon Shell at Different Stages of Land Preparation in the Management of Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth in Maize (Zea mays L.)

A trial was conducted in 2010 and 2011 wet seasons at Mokwa to evaluate the effects of melon shell incorporated into the soil at different stages of land preparation in the management of Striga hermonthica in two maize varieties. Mokwa lies on longitude (090 181N and 050 041E) in the Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). It consisted of two maize varieties, Early White Maturity (EWM) and Oba Super II factorially combined with three different stages of land preparation. The data collected includes days to first Striga shoot emergence, Striga shoot count at 9 and 12 WAS, syndrome reaction score, plant height at 3, 6 and 9 WAS and grains yield (Kg/ha). The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and means were partitioned using least significant different at 5% level of probability. The results indicated that Oba Super II (resistant) variety generally supported less Striga infestation and Striga shoot count comparable to treatments combination of Early White Maturity (Susceptible) variety. Also Oba Super II maize variety planted with incorporation of melon shell two days before ridging significantly had taller plant height than Early White Maturity variety only in 2010 wet season. Generally, Oba Super II (resistant) variety treated with melon shell at different stages of land preparation significantly recorded higher grain yield in 2011 wet season than the Early White Maize variety.