Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems

There is a paucity of information on nutrient stocks and distribution in the cocoa ecosystem for the management of production sites to improve its productivity. Apart, sites with long histories of cocoa production could differ in nutrient stocks and distribution relative to recent production regions...

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Main Authors: A. M. Mohammed, J. S. Robinson, A. Verhoef, D. J. Midmore
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:International Journal of Agronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8856314
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author A. M. Mohammed
J. S. Robinson
A. Verhoef
D. J. Midmore
author_facet A. M. Mohammed
J. S. Robinson
A. Verhoef
D. J. Midmore
author_sort A. M. Mohammed
collection DOAJ
description There is a paucity of information on nutrient stocks and distribution in the cocoa ecosystem for the management of production sites to improve its productivity. Apart, sites with long histories of cocoa production could differ in nutrient stocks and distribution relative to recent production regions. Therefore, some existing cocoa farms in Ghana were sampled on the basis of shade management (shaded and unshaded) and production site longevity (Eastern region > Western North region) to determine the nutrient stock and distributions in them. Over 93% of the total ecosystems’ elementary nutrients were stored in the soil. Higher nutrient stocks occurred under shaded cocoa ecosystem. Nutrient element concentrations in cocoa tree biomasses followed the order: N > Ca > K > Mg > P > S > Al = Fe > Zn = Mn, and mostly concentrated in leaf > root = husk > branch > stem. On average, region as a main factor affected nutrient distributions. There was a sharp distinction between macronutrient and micronutrient accumulations in favour of Eastern region and Western North region, respectively. Therefore, the regional distinction with respect to macro- and micronutrients could be used as a guide to fertilizer recommendation for cocoa systems in the two regions.
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spelling doaj-art-50a2ad75b0584f2f9c1e2bd2193822a22025-02-03T06:43:30ZengWileyInternational Journal of Agronomy1687-81591687-81672020-01-01202010.1155/2020/88563148856314Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa EcosystemsA. M. Mohammed0J. S. Robinson1A. Verhoef2D. J. Midmore3CSIR-Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, Tamale, GhanaUniversity of Reading, Reading, UKUniversity of Reading, Reading, UKUniversity of Reading, Reading, UKThere is a paucity of information on nutrient stocks and distribution in the cocoa ecosystem for the management of production sites to improve its productivity. Apart, sites with long histories of cocoa production could differ in nutrient stocks and distribution relative to recent production regions. Therefore, some existing cocoa farms in Ghana were sampled on the basis of shade management (shaded and unshaded) and production site longevity (Eastern region > Western North region) to determine the nutrient stock and distributions in them. Over 93% of the total ecosystems’ elementary nutrients were stored in the soil. Higher nutrient stocks occurred under shaded cocoa ecosystem. Nutrient element concentrations in cocoa tree biomasses followed the order: N > Ca > K > Mg > P > S > Al = Fe > Zn = Mn, and mostly concentrated in leaf > root = husk > branch > stem. On average, region as a main factor affected nutrient distributions. There was a sharp distinction between macronutrient and micronutrient accumulations in favour of Eastern region and Western North region, respectively. Therefore, the regional distinction with respect to macro- and micronutrients could be used as a guide to fertilizer recommendation for cocoa systems in the two regions.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8856314
spellingShingle A. M. Mohammed
J. S. Robinson
A. Verhoef
D. J. Midmore
Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
International Journal of Agronomy
title Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
title_full Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
title_fullStr Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
title_full_unstemmed Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
title_short Nutrient Stocks and Distribution in Ghanaian Cocoa Ecosystems
title_sort nutrient stocks and distribution in ghanaian cocoa ecosystems
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8856314
work_keys_str_mv AT ammohammed nutrientstocksanddistributioninghanaiancocoaecosystems
AT jsrobinson nutrientstocksanddistributioninghanaiancocoaecosystems
AT averhoef nutrientstocksanddistributioninghanaiancocoaecosystems
AT djmidmore nutrientstocksanddistributioninghanaiancocoaecosystems