Abstract
Telfairia occidentalis Hook, was grown in the field and harvested every 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks to determine the effect of these harvest intervals on the plant's dry matter (DM) yield, content of crude protein (CP), N, P and K and longevity. The results indicated that the 2-weekly harvests gave a significantly (P ? 0.05) higher total DM yield than the 6- and 8-weekly harvests. CP in the leaf blade was higher than CP in the vine and petiole in the 2-weekly harvest; positive correlation (r = 0.72) existed between CP in the leaf blade and CP in the vine and petiole in the 2-weekly harvest. The first harvest had higher CP content in the leaf blade than subsequent harvests. There were positive correlations between N, P and K levels in the leaf blade and those in the vine and petiole; N and P levels in the leaf blade were consistently higher than in the vine and petiole; K level was higher in the vine and petiole than in the leaf blade. There was no significant effect of harvest interval on the longevity of the crop.
