Optimization of <i>Camellia sinensis</i> Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers

Evans Kenanda Okemwa; Jepkemei Naum Kirwa

doi:doi:10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers

Evans Kenanda Okemwa, Jepkemei Naum Kirwa

Published in World Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 5, Issue 2)

Received: 8 June 2020 Accepted: 20 June 2020 Published: 4 July 2020

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Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the top foreign exchange earner in Kenya. Its demand is relatively high and this has triggered increased production. Manufacturing companies have also stiff competitions amongst themselves on the aspect of branding. However, for quality assurance and high productivity, the nature of fertilizer in regard to its nutrients has played a major role. This study investigated the effects of blended NPK (Nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertilizer on tea crop productivity in different growing regions of Kenya. The optimum sustainable rate of fertilizer application was also determined. Different rates of 0, 75, 150 and 225 Kg/ha/Yr (kilogram per hectare per year) were used. A randomized complete block design was applied and the sample clone was Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) 6/8. The samples, composed of two leaves and a bud, were randomly picked, dried and ground into powder. Each sample was heated to ash in a muffle furnace, cooled and digested using 50% double acid of HNO₃ and HCl with H₂O₂. Desorption was done using HCl and samples allowed to settle before being aspirated into an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OPS). They were reweighed and digested for determination of total percentage nitrogen.; This was followed by distillation before titration with ammonium borate solution and HCl. Data analysis was done using MSTAT statistical package. The results revealed that the percentage accumulation of elements was highest when blended fertilizer was applied at a lower rate of 75 Kg N/Ha/Yr. compared to standard compounded fertilizer, which required higher rates of up to 225 Kg N/Ha/Yr. for accumulation of nutrients. Blended fertilizer was therefore found to be more economical and highly yielding than Standard compounded fertilizer, as a lower rate of application still led to higher accumulation of elements which is directly proportional to higher yield and quality in tea.

Published in	World Journal of Applied Chemistry (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12
Page(s)	20-25
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Camellia Sinensis, Fertilizer, Tea, Productivity, Desorption

References

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[4]	L.-S. Lee, S.-H. Kim, Y.-B. Kim, Y.-C. Kim. Quantitative analysis of major constituents in green tea with different plucking periods and their antioxidant activity. Molecules, 2014, 19 (7), 9173–9186.
[5]	N. K. Fageria, V. C Baligar. Enhancing nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants. Advances in Agronomy, 2005, 88, 97–185.
[6]	Cheruiyot, E.; Mumera, L.; Ng’etich, W.; Hasanali, A.; Wachira, F. (2009). High Fertilizer Rates Increase Susceptibility of Tea to Water Stress. Journal of Plant Nutrition 33: 115-129.
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[8]	5 Owuor, P. O.; Othieno, C. O.; Kamau, D. M.; Wanyoko, J. K. (2012). Effects of long-term fertilizer use on a high yielding tea clone AHP S15/10: Soil pH, mature leaf nitrogen, mature leaf and soil phosphorus and potassium. International Journal of Tea Science, 8 (1): 15-51.
[9]	Sitienei K, Kamiri HW, Nduru GM, Kamau DM, Nyabundi WK, Morogo M. Effects of Blended Fertilizers on Yields of Mature Clonal Tea grown in Kenyan Highlands. International Journal of Tea Science 2019; 14 (1):36-43.
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[15]	T. Karak, R. M Bhagat. Trace elements in tea leaves, made tea and tea infusion: A review. Food Research International, 2010, 43 (9), 2234–2252.
[16]	P. O. Owuor, D. M., Kamau, S. M., Kamunya, S. W. M.; Somba, M. A. Uwimana, A. W. Okal,; B. O. Kwach. Effects of genotype, environment and management on yields and quality of black tea. In Genetics, Biofuels and Local Farming Systems 2011, pp. 277–307. Springer.
[17]	B. K. Yadav, A. S. Sidhu. Dynamics of potassium and their bioavailability for plant nutrition. In Potassium solubilizing microorganisms for sustainable agriculture, Springer, 2016 pp. 187–201.
[18]	S. B. Sharma, R. Z. Sayyed, M. H. Trivedi, T. A. Gobi. Phosphate solubilizing microbes: sustainable approach for managing phosphorus deficiency in agricultural soils. SpringerPlus, 2013, 2 (1), 587. Z.-H. Wang,; S. X. Li,; B. A. Stewart. Responses of crop plants to ammonium and nitrate N. In Advances in agronomy. 2013, Vol. 118, pp. 205–397.
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APA Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa, Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. (2020). Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World Journal of Applied Chemistry, 5(2), 20-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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ACS Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa; Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World J. Appl. Chem. 2020, 5(2), 20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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AMA Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa, Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World J Appl Chem. 2020;5(2):20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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@article{10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12,
  author = {Evans Kenanda Okemwa and Jepkemei Naum Kirwa},
  title = {Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers},
  journal = {World Journal of Applied Chemistry},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-25},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjac.20200502.12},
  abstract = {Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the top foreign exchange earner in Kenya. Its demand is relatively high and this has triggered increased production. Manufacturing companies have also stiff competitions amongst themselves on the aspect of branding. However, for quality assurance and high productivity, the nature of fertilizer in regard to its nutrients has played a major role. This study investigated the effects of blended NPK (Nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertilizer on tea crop productivity in different growing regions of Kenya. The optimum sustainable rate of fertilizer application was also determined. Different rates of 0, 75, 150 and 225 Kg/ha/Yr (kilogram per hectare per year) were used. A randomized complete block design was applied and the sample clone was Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) 6/8. The samples, composed of two leaves and a bud, were randomly picked, dried and ground into powder. Each sample was heated to ash in a muffle furnace, cooled and digested using 50% double acid of HNO3 and HCl with H2O2. Desorption was done using HCl and samples allowed to settle before being aspirated into an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OPS). They were reweighed and digested for determination of total percentage nitrogen.; This was followed by distillation before titration with ammonium borate solution and HCl. Data analysis was done using MSTAT statistical package. The results revealed that the percentage accumulation of elements was highest when blended fertilizer was applied at a lower rate of 75 Kg N/Ha/Yr. compared to standard compounded fertilizer, which required higher rates of up to 225 Kg N/Ha/Yr. for accumulation of nutrients. Blended fertilizer was therefore found to be more economical and highly yielding than Standard compounded fertilizer, as a lower rate of application still led to higher accumulation of elements which is directly proportional to higher yield and quality in tea.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers
AU - Evans Kenanda Okemwa
AU - Jepkemei Naum Kirwa
Y1 - 2020/07/04
PY - 2020
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12
DO - 10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12
T2 - World Journal of Applied Chemistry
JF - World Journal of Applied Chemistry
JO - World Journal of Applied Chemistry
SP - 20
EP - 25
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2637-5982
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12
AB - Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the top foreign exchange earner in Kenya. Its demand is relatively high and this has triggered increased production. Manufacturing companies have also stiff competitions amongst themselves on the aspect of branding. However, for quality assurance and high productivity, the nature of fertilizer in regard to its nutrients has played a major role. This study investigated the effects of blended NPK (Nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertilizer on tea crop productivity in different growing regions of Kenya. The optimum sustainable rate of fertilizer application was also determined. Different rates of 0, 75, 150 and 225 Kg/ha/Yr (kilogram per hectare per year) were used. A randomized complete block design was applied and the sample clone was Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) 6/8. The samples, composed of two leaves and a bud, were randomly picked, dried and ground into powder. Each sample was heated to ash in a muffle furnace, cooled and digested using 50% double acid of HNO3 and HCl with H2O2. Desorption was done using HCl and samples allowed to settle before being aspirated into an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OPS). They were reweighed and digested for determination of total percentage nitrogen.; This was followed by distillation before titration with ammonium borate solution and HCl. Data analysis was done using MSTAT statistical package. The results revealed that the percentage accumulation of elements was highest when blended fertilizer was applied at a lower rate of 75 Kg N/Ha/Yr. compared to standard compounded fertilizer, which required higher rates of up to 225 Kg N/Ha/Yr. for accumulation of nutrients. Blended fertilizer was therefore found to be more economical and highly yielding than Standard compounded fertilizer, as a lower rate of application still led to higher accumulation of elements which is directly proportional to higher yield and quality in tea.
VL - 5
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Evans Kenanda Okemwa

Department Research and Extension, Kisii University, Kisii, Kenya
Jepkemei Naum Kirwa

Department of Chemistry, School of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kisii University, Kisii, Kenya

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APA Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa, Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. (2020). Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World Journal of Applied Chemistry, 5(2), 20-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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ACS Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa; Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World J. Appl. Chem. 2020, 5(2), 20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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AMA Style

Evans Kenanda Okemwa, Jepkemei Naum Kirwa. Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers. World J Appl Chem. 2020;5(2):20-25. doi: 10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12

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@article{10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12,
  author = {Evans Kenanda Okemwa and Jepkemei Naum Kirwa},
  title = {Optimization of Camellia sinensis Crop Productivity by Use of Blended Fertilizers},
  journal = {World Journal of Applied Chemistry},
  volume = {5},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-25},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjac.20200502.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjac.20200502.12},
  abstract = {Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the top foreign exchange earner in Kenya. Its demand is relatively high and this has triggered increased production. Manufacturing companies have also stiff competitions amongst themselves on the aspect of branding. However, for quality assurance and high productivity, the nature of fertilizer in regard to its nutrients has played a major role. This study investigated the effects of blended NPK (Nitrogen:phosphorus:potassium) fertilizer on tea crop productivity in different growing regions of Kenya. The optimum sustainable rate of fertilizer application was also determined. Different rates of 0, 75, 150 and 225 Kg/ha/Yr (kilogram per hectare per year) were used. A randomized complete block design was applied and the sample clone was Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) 6/8. The samples, composed of two leaves and a bud, were randomly picked, dried and ground into powder. Each sample was heated to ash in a muffle furnace, cooled and digested using 50% double acid of HNO3 and HCl with H2O2. Desorption was done using HCl and samples allowed to settle before being aspirated into an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OPS). They were reweighed and digested for determination of total percentage nitrogen.; This was followed by distillation before titration with ammonium borate solution and HCl. Data analysis was done using MSTAT statistical package. The results revealed that the percentage accumulation of elements was highest when blended fertilizer was applied at a lower rate of 75 Kg N/Ha/Yr. compared to standard compounded fertilizer, which required higher rates of up to 225 Kg N/Ha/Yr. for accumulation of nutrients. Blended fertilizer was therefore found to be more economical and highly yielding than Standard compounded fertilizer, as a lower rate of application still led to higher accumulation of elements which is directly proportional to higher yield and quality in tea.},
 year = {2020}
}

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