Influence of Mineral Fertiliser on Vegetative Parameters of Fluted Pumpkins (Telfairia occidentalis Cucurbitaceae) in Buea, Cameroon

Telfairia occidentalis commonly called fluted pumpkin is an indigenous vegetable of Central Africa particularly in Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. The leaves and seeds are widely implicated in the local gastronomy of these regions. The potential of this plant in the field of medicine is being investigated. Unlike Nigeria, fluted pumpkin is still in subsistent production in Cameroon. Among other factors, fertiliser plays a fundamental role in our understanding for mass production of many vegetables. We evaluated the role of urea (46% N) and NPK fertiliser on the vegetative parameters of fluted pumpkin in Buea, at the foot of Mount Fako South West Region of Cameroon in 2012-13. Soil physicochemical properties were examined before the experiment. 5 g, 10 g, 15 g urea/plant and 10 g NPK/plant were applied in a ring method 1 and 5 weeks after germination with 3 replications. A repeated measure multivariate analysis revealed an interaction between time and the fertiliser regimes. Soil analysis revealed a slightly high N and P concentrations. Number of leaves was significantly (P = .05) highest (280.7) for plant treated with 15 g urea/plant 10 weeks after planting, followed by 266.7, 263.0, 232.3, and 66.3 for plants treated with 10 g urea/plant, 10 g NPK/plant, 5 g urea/plant and control respectively. High urea concentrations had an antagonistic effect on vine length. Plant treated with 15 g urea/plant had a statistically significant (P = .05) highest leaf length (8.57 cm) from all treatments except for plant treated with 10 g NPK/plant (7.77 cm) and 10 g urea/plant (7.63 cm). Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive correlation (r2 = 0.621, P = .018) between number of leaves and length of leaves. We strongly recommend that farmers use 15 g urea/plant for maximum vegetative plant output. Other ramifications of this research are discussed.