Growth performance, yield and nutritional quality of <i>Amaranthus cruentus</i> L. under repeated applications of poultry manures

Abstract

This study investigated the growth performance, yield and nutritional quality of Amaranthus cruentus with a view to determining the changes that take place in the proximate composition of the test crop under repeated applications of different poultry composts in pot culture. A  factorial combination of four treatments, namely; 100 % Broilers' Manure  Compost (BMC), 100 % Layers' Manure Compost (LMC), 100 % Cockerel  Manure Compost (CMC) and 33.33 % BMC + 33.33 % LMC + 33.33 %  CMC otherwise referred to as Mixed Manure Compost (MMC) were  applied at four levels each and replicated three times. The levels of  application were (t ha^-1): 9.0, 6.0, 3.0 and 0, which served as the control.  The results showed that the growth parameters; such as plant height, stem girth, number of leaves and leaf area of plants increased with increase in compost applications. The highest leafy productivity (leaf + shoot) mean yield of 24.19 t ha^-1 was significantly (p < 0.05) different from 9.73 t ha^-1 obtained with 9 t ha^-1 of CMC during the two consecutive cropping. The control treatment gave the significantly (p < 0.05) highest values of crude fiber (16.78%), total ash (13.08%) and vitamin C (5.75%) when compared with other treatments. Comparable but lower values were obtained during the second cropping. Despite increased soil fertility brought about by repeated application of poultry manures to soil, reduced  leafy productivity and quality of A. cruentus obtained may be attributed to ecotoxicological effect of the compost on the soil.

Keywords: Amaranthus cruentus, Compost, Nutritional Quality, Organic Waste, Plant Health, Poultry Droppings.