Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizer on yield and chlorophyll content of maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench)

The effects of amending soil with organic (poultry manure) and inorganic fertilizer on yield and chlorophyll content of maize (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) was carried out at the Teaching and Research (T&R) Farm of the Obafemi Awolowo University, (O.A.U.) Ile - Ife, Nigeria. The experiment was a randomised complete block design (RCBD), laid out in a split-plot arrangement in the second cropping season of year 2001 and 2002. There were four sources of fertilizer for soil amendment: inorganic fertilizer (IF), mixture of inorganic fertilizer and poultry manure (IFPM), poultry manure (PM) and control (C) (no fertilizer or manure treatment). Each fertilizer source supplied 54 kg N plus 25 kg P2O5 and 25 kg K2O5/ha. There were significant variability and diversity observed on the two crops due to treatments. Grain yield was highest in sorghum (3.55 kg/ha) and maize (2.89 kg/ha) under IFPM followed by IF treatment for maize (2.33 kg/ha) and PM treatment for sorghum ((3.37 kg/ha). Sorghum and maize had the highest dry matter of 72.3 g/plant and 71.0 g/plant under IFPM at harvest. The effects of PM on the dry matter of sorghum (68.1 g/plant) and maize (61.7 g/plant) were not significantly different (p = 0.05) from that of IF (sorghum 66.1 g/plant, maize 58.7 g/plant). Sorghum also had the highest leaf area (LA) (2752.9 cm2/plant) and total chlorophyll content of 3.28 mg/g under PM while maize on the other hand had the highest LA (1969.5 cm2/plant) and total chlorophyll content of 2.63 mg/g under IFPM. In both maize and sorghum, the lowest chlorophyll content occurred in control plot. Drought tolerance measured as percentage chlorophyll stability index (CSI%) was highest under control plots in both crops

Influence of poultry manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer on grain yield and proximate component of two cultivars of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walps)

A study on the influence of poultry manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer on grain yield and proximate composition of two cultivars of cowpea (Ife Brown and IT86D - 719) was carried out at the Teaching and Research (T&R) Farm of the Obafemi Awolowo University, (O.A.U.) Ile - Ife, Nigeria. The two cultivars of cowpea were planted in a randomised complete block design (RCBD), laid out in a split-plot arrangement in two seasons and treated with four sources of fertilizer (inorganic fertilizer (IF), mixture of inorganic fertilizer and poultry manure (IFPM), poultry manure (PM) and no fertilizer or manure treatment referred to as the control (C). Each fertilizer source supplied 20 kg N/ha basal dosage. The variability and diversity observed were due to the genotypic variations of the crops and response to the fertilizer levels. The effect of the poultry manure and inorganic fertilizers on yield /yield components and proximate composition were significantly different from the control. Grain yield and yield components (the number of peduncles per plant (PEP), peduncle length (PEL), number of pods per plant (POP), dry pod weight (PDW), biomass (BM) and grain yield per plant (YLD/PLT)) were affected by the fertilizer levels, seasonal changes, cultivars; thus having significant influence on the final yield of the two cultivars; while pod length (PL), number of pods per peduncle (PPE), number of seeds per pod (NSP), 100SW were not. The crude protein, percent crude fibre, total nitrogen and carbohydrate content of the grains varied among cultivars and were significantly improved by fertilizer source, especially IFPM and PM. The significant response observed in the nutritional composition indicated differential utilization of nutrients under different treatments. The differential response of Ife Brown and IT86D-719 to poultry manure and inorganic fertilizer is clearly manifested on the grain yield, crude protein, percent crude fibre, total nitrogen and carbohydrate content of the grains of the two cultivars. Key Words: cowpea; cultivars; nutrient source; poultry manure; proximate composition; yield Moor J. Agric. Res. Vol.4(1) 2003:37-4

Response of PGPR and AM fungi toward growth and secondary metabolite production in medicinal and aromatic plants

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) are a group of naturally occurring beneficial soil bacteria that colonize with the plant root system and promote growth by triggering the production of growth-regulating substances and facilitate the plants in the uptake of essential nutrients from the surrounding environments. Similarly, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi also enhanced the growth, water and nutrient uptake, and especially available phosphate through their specialized hyphae. In addition, PGPR and AM fungi are known to stimulate the accumulation of secondary metabolites in plants. For several years, they are commonly employed to increase the plant yield and productivity especially in agricultural practices. The medicinal and aromatic plants are gaining popularity worldwide due to high therapeutic properties with negligible toxic side effects. To fulfill the global demand and supply gap for medicinal and aromatic plants and their products, farmers are encouraged to cultivate these plants on a large scale. However, there is a need to understand and implement a better cultivation practices in order to improve the quality of medicinal and aromatic plants. In this regard, the utilization of PGPRs and AM fungi as biofertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers could be a promising approach to the development of medicinal and aromatic plants under the sustainable production system. The aim of this chapter is to describe the potentiality of PGPRs and AM fungi to improve growth and development of medicinal and aromatic plants and accumulation of secondary metabolites having high therapeutic worth and also pave a way in the development of new biotechnological products as biofertilizers