Open AccessComparative Effects of Two Manure Types and Their Combinations on Growth and Yield of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb) Matsum and Nakai) in Nsukka, Southeast Nigeria
Author(s) -
Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh,
Uchenoble Ukwu,
Donald A. Uzoigwe
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asian journal of advances in agricultural research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2456-8864
DOI - 10.9734/ajaar/2021/v17i230193
Subject(s) - citrullus lanatus , biology , sowing , randomized block design , crop , horticulture , yield (engineering) , forensic science , citrullus , manure , mathematics , agronomy , materials science , metallurgy , genetics
Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus (Thunb) Matsum and Nakai) is a high value fruit vegetable that has gained significant importance in Nigeria following the high level of satisfaction derived from its consumption, and the growing awareness of its nutritional and health benefits. However, its production has been limited to northern Nigeria with resultant increase in price of the crop. This study therefore assessed the growth and fruit yield of watermelon as influenced by pig and poultry manure rates during the 2020 late planting season (September to December). The experiment was a 3 × 3 factorial in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Three levels of pig (Pg) and poultry (Pt) manures at 0, 5, and 10 t/ha constitutes the factors A and B, respectively. Data were collected on growth and yield attributes, and were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at p≤0.05, and principal component analysis (PCA) using GenStat discovery 10.3 edition. Correlation analysis was done using IBM SPSS (version 23) [1]. The results showed significant difference (p<0.05) for sole application of varying levels of pig and poultry manures as well as their combinations. For sole application of pig manure, Pg5 gave significantly higher fruit yield (129.2 t/ha) compared to Pg10, and Pg0 (86.8 and 43.8 t/ha, respectively) while Pt10 (109.1 t/ha) outperformed Pt5 and Pt0 (92.1 and 58.5 t/ha, respectively) for sole application of poultry manure. Combination of Pg5 + Pt10 gave the best result for fruit yield (174.4 t/ha) and is thus recommended for watermelon production in Nsukka.