Article,

THE INFLUENCE OF CLIMATE VARIABLES ON WATERLEAF PRODUCTION IN CALABAR SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA

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Earth Sciences: an International Journal (ESIJ), 1 (1): 1-8 (May 2018)

Abstract

Waterleaf is a very important food component in Cross River State and Nigeria as a whole. The study examines the influence of climate variables on waterleaf production in Calabar South Local Government Area Cross River State, Nigeria. The sampling technique used was systematic random sampling. Five waterleaf farm plots from each area were selected within an interval of 2m in each area of the Unical farm and Airport farm. Each plot was gridded into cells of 5×5m and waterleaf within each cell was randomly selected for yield analysis. The method used for data analysis was both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics results shows that waterleaf yield from Unical farm and Airport farm experiences significant increase during December to January 210-210.6 kg with a relative humidity of 65- 68%, rainfall 0-0mm and temperature 27.2-28.30C respectively. While from April to November waterleaf yield from Unical farm and Airport farm ranges between 174.6-144.6kg, rainfall 678.7-100.2mm, temperature 28-22.50C and 93-65% respectively. The inferential statistics revealed that the results from the regression model for rainfall and temperature for both Unical farm and Airport farm are not significant, indicating that these variables do not contribute much to the model. To determine the relative importance of the significant predictors, the standardized coefficients shows that, in Unical farm temperature, rainfall and relative humidity were -0.176, -0.265 and -0.842 respectively. Airport farm, temperature, rainfall and relative humidity were -0.190, -0.248 and -0.863 respectively. Relative humidity for both Unical farm and Airport farm actually contributes more to the model because it has a larger absolute standardized coefficient. Unical farm and Airport farm Relative humidity are (r=-4.606, p, <0.01) and (r=-4.629, p, <0.01) respectively. This implies that there is a significant relationship between waterleaf yield and relative humidity in Unical farm and Airport farm. The study therefore recommends training scheme for farmers on new and improved farming techniques that will help reduce the effect of climate variables on waterleaf production.

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