Effects of Planting Date and Period of Weed Control on the Growth and Yield of Cotton in Samaru, Zaria

Abstract

A field trial was conducted during the 2013 - 2014 cropping seasons at the
Teaching and Research Farm of Samaru College of Agriculture, Ahmadu Bello
University. Zaria located between latitude 11°11'N and longitude 7°38'E in the
Northern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria at an altitude of 686m above
sea level. The land was ploughed, harrowed and pulverized with a hand hoe to make
the soil level smooth and suitable for seed germination and establishment. The trial
was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with treatment
combinations of 7th May, 7th June, 7th July, 7th August, of 2013 - 2014 and weed
control of 0, 3, 6 and 9 weeks after sowing (WAS), replicated three times to give a
total of 16 sub plots. From the results, it was observed that planting cotton first
week June of every year and weeding once at 3 and 6weeks after sowing will
improve the performance of the crop in terms of growth and yield in Samaru, Zaria.
Therefore, farmers are advised to abide by this recommendation.