Influence of Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates on Phenology and Yield of African Eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon L.) Cultivars in Minna and Abuja, Nigeria

Due to the dearth of information on the phenology and yield performance of African eggplant as influenced by nitrogen fertilizer, a research was conducted to determine the variation effects of nitrogen rates at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg ha-1 on vegetative growth of two African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) were conducted during the 2013 cropping season at the Federal University of Technology, Minna (90 31’N, 60 27’E; 232 m above sea level) and the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Technical headquarters, Sheda, Abuja (8°53’ N, 7°03’ E; 213 m above sea level), both in the Southern Guinea Savanna region of Nigeria. Seeds of the two cultivars (FUTMSm1 and FUTMSm2) were sown on nursery beds for five weeks before transplanting. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, using a 2 × 6 factorial arrangement. Phenological characters and fruit yield with its components parameters were studied. Correlation analysis was done to check the degree of association between fruit yield and its components. Some of the phenological characters were significantly affected by cultivar and the application of 20 to 40 kg N ha-1 at Minna and Abuja locations. Nitrogen rates of 60 kg ha-1 significantly gave the highest fruit yield/ha (tons) compared to the Due to the dearth of information on the phenology and yield performance of African eggplant as influenced by nitrogen fertilizer, a research was conducted to determine the variation effects of nitrogen rates at 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg ha-1 on vegetative growth of two African eggplant (Solanum macrocarpon) were conducted during the 2013 cropping season at the Federal University of Technology, Minna (90 31’N, 60 27’E; 232 m above sea level) and the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), Technical headquarters, Sheda, Abuja (8°53’ N, 7°03’ E; 213 m above sea level), both in the Southern Guinea Savanna region of Nigeria. Seeds of the two cultivars (FUTMSm1 and FUTMSm2) were sown on nursery beds for five weeks before transplanting. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, using a 2 × 6 factorial arrangement. Phenological characters and fruit yield with its components parameters were studied. Correlation analysis was done to check the degree of association between fruit yield and its components. Some of the phenological characters were significantly affected by cultivar and the application of 20 to 40 kg N ha-1 at Minna and Abuja locations. Nitrogen rates of 60 kg ha-1 significantly gave the highest fruit yield/ha (tons) compared to the control at both locations. There was a significant (<0.01; <0.05) positive correlation between the fruit yield and all other yield components studied except the seedling mortality rate which had a significant (