Evaluation of Growth and Yield Responses of Some Taro (Colocasia esculenta) Cultivars to Plant Spacing on the Plains of Nsukka, Southeastern Nigeria

A field experiment was conduct in 2008 and repeated in 2009 crop season at the linkage farm of the Univesity of Nigeria, Nsukka to evaluate growth and yield responses of five cultivars of taro ( Colocasia esculenta) to plant spacing on the plains of Nsukka with the objectives of identifying best performing cultivar and optimum plant spacing. The experiment was laid out in a 3 x 5 factorial in randomized complete block design (RCRD ( with three replications in which factor A is plant spacing comprising 0.3m x 1.0m, 0.4m x 10m and 0.5m x 1.0m levels while factor B is taro cultivars consisting of Nkpong, Odogolo, Nworoko, Ugwuta and Nachi. F-LSD was applied to detect significant differences between two means at 5 % probability level. The results show that the height and girth of cultivars were statistically the same for the two seasons except Ugwuta or Coco-India that indicated significant reduction in these growth parameters. Plant spacing also did not significantly influence the plant height and girth for the two seasons. Nworoko and Odogolo cultivars significantly produced the highest yield of 11.1tha-1 and 2.4tha-1 in 2008 and 2009 cropping seasons, respectively. In this vein, the close plant spacing (0.3mx1.0m) and maximum plant spacing (0.5mx10m) gave the highest yield of 11.9tha-1 and 2.3tha-1 in 2008 and 2009 cropping season, respectively.