Growth Response of Spider Plant (Cleome gynandra L.) on Plant Population and Phosphorous Levels

The study focused on establishing Growth Response of Spider Plant (Cleome gynandra L.) on Plant Population and Phosphorous levels due to various recommendations are given on spacing for the same crop by various extension service providers that have made farmers plant the crop using broadcasting, 30 cm x 10 cm, 30 cm x 15 cm and 50 cm x 15 cm, which have not facilitated adequate productivity. The experimental design used was randomised complete block design with three replicates. Three plant spacing of 45x15 cm, 30x15 cm and broadcasting were subjected to five different levels of (0, 20 kg/ha, 30 kg/ha, 40 Kg/ha, 50 Kg/ha). Ten plants per plot were randomly selected and tagged for data collection. The collected data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests using SPSS software. Means were compared using the least significant difference (LSD) test at 5% level of significance. Results indicated that plant height; the number of branches, number of pods and seed yield were significantly affected by spacing and phosphorus levels. The wider spacing and highest level of P had significant effects on the growth of plants and seed yield. The spacing 45× 15 cm had a more positive effect on growth parameters and seeds weight as compared to other spacing(S1 = broadcasting, S2 = 30 x 15 cm). The phosphorus levels of F5 = 50 kgs/ha, F4 = 40 kgs/ha, F3 = 30 kgs/ha and F2 = 20 kg/ha had higher effect on growth and seed yield than the control (F1) by F5 registering much effects than the rest. Accordingly, the spacing of 45x 15 cm with phosphorous level 50 kg/ha is recommended for optimal results in spider plant seed production.