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The Effects of Fertilizer Applications on the Yields and Nodulation of Tropical Kudzu¹

ABSTRACT

In view of the reported good growth of tropical kudzu, Pueraria phaseoloides javanica, in acid soils (pH 5.5 and below) and the use of nitrogen fertilizers to establish kudzu stand, this study was initiated to determine the effects of liming and nitrogen on yields and nodulation.

The tropical kudzu was grown in the greenhouse on Lares clay, an acid lateritic clay with a pH of 4.4. The treatments consisted of a control, nitrogen (1,200 pounds of ammonium sulfate), calcium (10,000 pounds of CaCO₃), nitrogen plus calcium, and borax (30 pounds) plus calcium. All treatments received P₂O₅ and K₂O at a rate of 100 pounds each per acre. The kudzu was harvested at a crop age of 3 months.

The use of nitrogen increased yields significantly over the control with no nitrogen, but the number of nodules per plant decreased very significantly from 59 nodules per plant to 10 nodules per plant. The lime treatment gave higher yields than the control, but not as high as the nitrogen treatment; the number of nodules per plant, however, was highest for the lime treatment. The use of lime and nitrogen in combination gave the highest yields, but the number of nodules per plant was reduced to the same as the treatment with nitrogen only. Lime and borax together gave high yields, parallel to the nitrogen treatment, but the number of nodules per plant was the lowest obtained for any treatment. The nitrogen content showed no statistically significant difference for any treatment.

¹ A contribution from Agronomy and Horticulture Department of the University of Puerto Rico, Agricultural Experiment Station, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. Presented before Section IV, Soil Science Society of America, State College, Pa., August 30, 1951.

² Plant Physiologist and Assistant Agronomist, respectively. The authors wish to express their appreciation to F. Ascorbe, Res. Asst. in Chem., for the chemical analyses of the kudzu plant material.