Authors: G.C. Ufoegbune, N.J. Bello, A.O. Eruola, A. A. Amori and A.A. Makinde
Received: 02/09/2012 Revised: 23/09/2012 Accepted: 24/09/2012
Abstract
A field experiment was carried out at the farm of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) to study the effects of moisture stress levels on the production of bean. Randomized complete block (RBCD) was used during the field experimentation with
4 replicates which include grass and nylon mulching, and 3 treatments were considered, (control, no water and excess water
respectively). The results showed that the water stress treatment significantly reduced the numbers of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, plant height, and stem girth. Also, the grass and nylon mulched replicates were significantly increased, particularly at the excess water treatment. Significant difference was observed in the different characters studied in the various treatments. In this respect; excess watering treatment exhibited vigorous growth, greater number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, plant height and larger stem girth compared to the control treatment, while the no water treatment showed stunted growth due to low water
potential of the un-mulched replicates.