Description

Abstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important component of cropping systems in West Africa. Identifying production constraints in farmers’ fields and evaluating possible management strategies are of prime importance to improve peanut productivity and adoption of new technologies. The objectives of our research was to study the influence of fungicides and phosphorus application on severity of leaf spot, dry matter production and pod yield of peanut crops grown in on-station and farmer participatory tests (on-farm conditions) in Northern Ghana. On-station tests to evaluate yield benefits of fungicide sprays and applications of phosphorus were conducted at Wa. On-station tests included two fungicide treatments (no-spray versus fungicide spray) at four P fertilizer levels (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg P ha-1). On-farm tests were conducted in three villages Nakor, Piisi and Janguasi with participation of 6-11 farmers per village. On-farm tests included three treatments: (i) farmers’ practice of no-fungicide and no-fertilizer (control), (ii) only fungicide, and (iii) combination of fungicide and phosphorus. The commonly grown Spanish type cultivar Chinese (90-d duration) was selected. Both leaf spot and lack of phosphorus nutrition were yield-limiting factors in on-farm tests. Applications of fungicide were effective in controlling leaf spot and improved peanut pod yield on average by 49% in the three tested field sites in on-farm tests and by 40% in on-station tests. Application of phosphorus to fungicide-treated plots further increased pod yield by 32% when compared to fungicide alone in on-farm tests. Combination of both fungicide and P fertilizer improved peanut pod yield by 95% (ranged from 75 to 120%), when compared to farmers’ practice of no-fungicide and no-fertilizer.