Growth Response, Herbage yield and proximate contents of Peppermint (Mentha piperita) as influenced by Organic fertilizer types

Summary in the original language of the document

Mentha piperita commonly called the peppermint belong to the genus Mentha of the family Lamiaceae with over 200 genera distributed mostly in temperate and sub-temperate regions. It yields most popular and widely used essential oils. Preliminary study on peppermint as a new crop in Nigeria revealed a great potential for its adaptability and cultivation. Meeting nutrients requirement is one of the important agronomic conditions for successful introduction of new crops because it has a great influence on growth, the quality and quantity of secondary metabolites which directly or otherwise affect our health. A field experiment was conducted in 2016 at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (Latitude 7o 14ǀ 8.034 NS, Longitude 3o 26ǀ 13.914 EW and altitude 131 masl), Ogun, State Nigeria to assess the effects of two organic fertilizers on performance of peppermint under tropical condition. The treatments were Gateway organic fertilizer (GOF) and Sunshine organic fertilizer (SOF) at the rates of 0 and 6.5t/ha each pre applied two weeks on 2m x 2m beds, laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. Mint cuttings of 10 cm length were planted and watered twice daily for 10 days. Vegetative growth was assessed for 14 weeks. Two harvestings were done by cutting the vines at 5 cm above soil level and the fresh herbage weighed and then oven -dried at 60℃ for 48 hour determine dry weight at 18 WAP. Foliar Proximate contentment and essential oil extraction were carried out in the laboratory. Oil extraction was by hydro-distillation of 100 g of leaves oven dried leaves. The oil was extracted for 8 hours using a Soxlet apparatus and solvent-petroleum ether following the procedure of Guenther, (1972).
.. The effects of the two organic fertilizers on the number of leaves, vine length and proximate contents of Mentha piperita were not significantly different. However moisture content was higher with application of 6.5t/ha SOF compared to control and GOF at 6.5t/ha. Application of SOF and GOF at 6.5t/ha produced similar dry matter content which were not significantly different though GOF had higher value. The treatments had significant effect on fat, ash, crude fiber, crude protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C, and alkaloid and glycoside contents. Application of organic fertilizer resulted in superior performance of pepper mint compared to control, Therefore either Gateway or Sunshine organic fertilizer can be considered as the optimum herbage yield and quality of peppermint.
Keywords: essential oil, growth, Nigeria, organic, peppermint, proximate content