Evaluation of Animal Manures on the Yield of Solanum Macrocarpon L. and Chemical Properties of Soil

Summary

Animal manures regarded as wastes could be channeled towards improving the fertility of the soil and crop production. A field experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Nigeria in 2013 to evaluate the effect of animal manures on yield and chemical properties of soil grown with Solanum macrocarpon. Treatments used were: goat manure at 10, 20 and 30t/ha (GM 10, GM 20 and GM 30 respectively), poultry manure at 10, 20 and 30t/ha (PM 10, PM 20 and PM 30 respectively), cow dung at 10, 20, 30t/ha (CD 10, CD 20 and CD 30 respectively) and control. Application of GM 30 significantly increased the height (25.90 cm), number of leaves (65), yield (248.65 g/plant) of S. macrocarpon and post harvest soil K (0.08 cmol/kg) above the control. Highest post harvest soil available phosphorus (54.58 mg/kg) and magnesium (2.47 cmol/kg) were observed from PM 30 treated plots. S. macrocarpon could be grown with either goat manure at 30t/ha or poultry manure at 30 t/ha for higher yield and improved soil quality on soils similar to the one used for the experiment.