Soil Chemical Properties and Yield Response of Okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus L) to Different Organic Fertilizer Sources

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of animal manures (cow manure, CoM; chicken droppings,CkD; and pig manure, PiM) applied at 15 t ha-1 equivalent rate on the soil and growth performance of okra grown in a degraded ultisol. The treatments (CoM; CoM; PiM and Control unamended) were laid out in a completely randomized design and replicated three times. Animal manure application had significant effects on soil properties. Soilorganic matter increased by over 9% in the amended treatment relative to the control treatment. Except for N, increases in P (circa 14-70%)and K (circa 15-46%) nutrients were higher for CkD treatment than in other treatments. Generally, the amended treatments maintained a significantly higher (p ≤0.05) plant leave number, stem girth, plant height, okra pod length and yields when compared with the Control treatment. The results indicated that application of animal manure enhanced okra growth performance. The findings suggest that animal manure application can potentially increase okra yield when grown in a degraded soil. It is recommended that farmers use ample (15 t ha-1) ) quantity of animal manures to increase their crop yields, which invariably will enhance their income.    Keywords: Soil fertility, Organic fertilizers, Okra Growth, Yield response, Biomass