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International Journal of Horticulture 2014, Vol.4, No.12, 58
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the soil, supplying both macro and micronutrient not
contained in mineral fertilizer (Mbagwu and Ekwealor,
1990). While result from NPK amended soil in the
study could be attributed to high rate of mineralization
of the fertilizer that makes its nutrient readily
available and also, can easily be leached out as could
be affected by heavy precipitation (Onwudike, 2010).
Above all, the findings from this study support the
earlier report by Singh and Kawu (2002) that PM
influenced okra growth and yield better than NPK
fertilizer.
Conclusion
Results obtained from this study showed that both PM
and NPK fertilizer significantly increase the growth
and yield of okra compared with the control. PM
performed better than NPK fertilizer. Therefore, with
the global trend towards organic farming,
Poultry manure could be used as alternative source of
plant nutrient to achieve this aim; in Ikorodu agro
ecological zone for continuous and sustainable okra
production on degraded soil.
Materials and Methods
Experimental location
The experiment was conducted on 133m
2
land at the
Teaching and Research Farms, Lagos State Polytechnic,
Ikorodu, Nigeria (latitude 5°1' and longitude 3°) in the
wet season of 2012. The area has a humid tropical
climate with marked wet and dry season, high diurnal
temperature coupled with high humid and
evapotranspiration rate (Laspotech Meteorological
station, 2012). The land has been under cultivation for
many years with occasional fallow period.
Soil and poultry manure analysis
Prior to the commencement of the experiment core
soil samples were collected at random from the site at
a depth of 0~15 cm using soil auger. The soil was air
dried, crushed and sieved through a 2 mm sieve mesh.
It was then analysed for its physiochemical properties
using standard laboratory procedures as outline by
Mylavapus and Kennelley (2002) and Okalebo et al
(2002). The result of the pre-plant soil analysis
showed that the soil is sandy loam in texture (Sand
74%, Silt 14%, Clay 12%) and slightly acidic (pH
(H
2
O) 5.73) low in organic matter (OM 1.18%), Total
N 11%, Available Phosphorus 12.3 mg/kg, 0.51cmol/kg
-1
K, 1.20 cmol/kg
-1
Ca, and 1.54 cmol/kg
-1
Mg. The
poultry manure (PM) used was collected from the
poultry unit of Teaching and Research Farms, Lagos
State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Nigeria, shade dried to
avoid decomposition, pulverized and analysed for its
nutrients composition following standard procedure of
Juo (1979) and Okalebo et al (2002). The result
indicates that the poultry manure composed of the
following nutrients: Organic Carbon 12.7%, Total
Nitrogen 2.13%, and C: N ratio 6.0, available P 0.28,
K 2.02, Ca 1.35 and Mg 0.58.
Experimental Design and Agronomic practices
The site was ploughed twice, stumped manually and
debris packed. Thereafter raised bed were constructed
using hand hoe, each plot was 1m x 5m with a discard
of 1m between treatment plots. There were 3
treatments namely: 25tons/ha
-1
of poultry manure
(PM), 80kg/ha
-1
NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer and control
treatment with no manure or chemical fertilizer
application, replicated three times in randomized
complete block design (RCBD) giving a total of 9
treatment plots. PM was incorporated into the soil a
weeks before planting and watered heavily to allow
for proper decomposition while NPK 15-15-15
fertilizer was applied to the plant 10cm radius using
ring method at 3 WAP (Sanni and Adesina, 2012).
The okra seed, V35 variety used was sourced from
National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT),
Ibadan, Nigeria and prior to planting seed viability test
was carried out using floating method and thereafter 2
seeds were planted per hole at a spacing of
60cm×50cm but later thinned to one per stand 2 WAP
(Adesina and Idoko, 2013), while supplying was
carried out 1 WAP. Weeding was done three times, 3,
6 and 9 WAP, insect pest control were carried out
using crude extract of neem leaves while light
watering was carried out as at regular interval.
Data collection and analysis
Five plants were randomly sampled per plot to
determine plant height, number of leaves at 3, 6 and 9
weeks after planting (WAP). The meter rule was used
for the measuring of the plant height from base to the
tip of the main shoots while the number of leaves
were counted and recorded. The number of pods per
plant was counted while the pod weight per plant and
fruit yield per hectare were weighed using an
Electronic Balance and the averages of their
respective weights were taken for each treatment and
recorded at harvesting (Olaniyi and Ojetayo, 2010).