Agronomic practices of kolanut production in Nigeria

Abstract

The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) researchers have identified the major factors that limit the yield of kola. These factors include self and cross incompatibility among trees, partial and total sterility, inefficient natural pollination, neglect of farms, decline in soil fertility and old age of most kola trees in existence coupled with both field and storage pest and diseases. A major research achievement made at the Institute is the establishment of a kola germplasm with a number of promising hybrids, which are capable of producing in 5 years, with an annual average yield of about 2,000nuts/tree/annum (i.e. eight times the present national average production of 250 nuts/tree/annum). This presentation therefore elaborates on these factors that limit yield of kola and highlights the agronomic solutions to them with the sole aim of increasing the level of adoption of new technologies on kola production by farmers, which will definitely lead to several positive developments.
Key Words: Kolanut production; Agronomy; Crop yield; Cola sp.