| dc.description.abstract | Sweet potato is a crop that plays a great role in
food security in Kenya since it is a drought resistant crop, takes
a short time to mature and is highly flexible. The main economic
activity in Embu West Sub County is agriculture, which is the
economic pillar of Embu County with most farmers there being
small scale farmers and depending on this sector for their
livelihood. Phosphorus as a plant nutrient is a key component of
several chemical compounds necessary for metabolic activities,
flowering, and root development; hence, it is essential for proper
plants growth including sweet potatoes. This study purposed to
evaluate how P application affects yield of three sweet potato
varieties in Embu West Sub County. The sweet potato varieties
used were SPK004 (V1), Kenspot 3 (V2) and Kenspot 4 (V3). The
P fertilizer levels used were 0 kg/ha (P1), 25 kg/ha (P2), 50 kg/ha
(P3), and 75 kg/ha (P4). Data on two specific yield parameters
was collected at harvest; the collected data was summarized
using excel. Analysis of variance of the data was done using SPSS
version 23, at α=0.05. For treatment means that were
significantly different, LSD as Post hoc test was used to separate
them. The study showed significant yield potential difference in
the yield parameters among the three sweet potato varieties with
Kenspot 4 being the highest producer of both total and
marketable tubers yield. The study showed that the amount of P
applied significantly affected yield of sweet potatoes with a P
level of 50 kg/ha producing significantly higher yields. | en_US |
