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Abstract

In the Sub-Saharan Africa, the Shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa C.F. Gaertn) has widespread occurrence of Shea Parklands across savanna landscapes. Recent demand growth for Shea butter by cosmetic and confectionary industry obtained from shea tree provides opportunities for income generation thus making significant contribution to rural livelihoods and ecosystem services. However, the Shea butter tree is a valuable resource which may become extinct if domestication is not intensified. Two screen house experiments were conducted sequentially to evaluate the effect of watering regime, organic manure application and mycorrhizal (Glomus mossae) inoculation on the growth and development of Shea butter seedlings. After the screen house experiment was terminated, the seedlings were planted on the field to assess their performance and survivability. Eight treatments (once a week watering (W1), once a week watering plus 2 t ha-1 of manure (W1Mn300), once a week watering plus 100 g of mycorrhiza inoculation (W1My100) and once a week watering plus 300 g of mycorrhiza inoculation (W1My300), once in two weeks watering (W2), once in two weeks watering plus 2 t ha-1 of manure (W2Mn300), once in two weeks watering plus 100 g of mycorrhiza inoculation (W2My100), once in two weeks watering plus 300 g of mycorrhiza inoculation (W2My300) were fitted into a Completely Randomizd Design (CRD) replicated three times. On the field, 32 plants 4 each from the 8 treatments were fitted into a randomized complete block design (RCBD) replicated three times. Collectively, the variables measured were plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, crude leaf area, chlorophyll content, mycorrhiza colonization of roots, leaf fall and plant mortality. Shea butter seedlings treated with 2 t ha-1 of manure in combination with either once a week or once in 2 weeks watering exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) better growth than seedlings from the other treatments. Seedlings inoculated with 100 g of mychorriza and watered once a week (W1My100) were comparable to those that received 2 t ha-1 of manure and once a week watering (W1Mn300) in number of Shea plant leaves. The survival ability of seedlings on the field was high (75 %) irrespective of treatment received in the screen house.