Performance of <I>Cochorus olitorius</I> as influenced by soil type and organic manure amendments in Yewa North Local Government Area, Ogun State

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in Yewa North Local Government Area, Ogun State to evaluate the effect of four soil types (loamy, sand, clay and silt) amended with poultry manure (PM), plant manure (PLM), sheep/goat manure (SGM) and NPK on performance of Cochorus olitorius. It was a factorial experiment in completely randomized design. Pre-treated seeds were planted and watered daily. Agronomic data collected on days after planting were plant height, number of leaves and stem girth. Data were analyzed using generalized linear model of SAS version 9.1. Means were separated by least significant difference at P < 0.05. Results obtained indicated that loamy soil had significantly higher plant height, number of leaves and stem girth than other soil types. Silt had the least values for all the parameters measured. Performance of the soil types were in the order Loam > Sand > Clay > Silt. PLM had significantly higher plant height and stem diameter than PM and NPK but not significantly different from that of SGM. Loamy soil amended with either PLM or SGM performed better for all the parameters measured and therefore recommended in this study.

Keywords: Organic manure, plant manure, soil type, Cochorus olitorius.

African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(33), pp. 5309-5312, 16 August, 2010