Influence of Vermicast on Early Growth of Black Afara (Terminaliaivorensis A. Chev.) Seedlings

This study assessed the effect of vermicast on the early growth of Terminalia ivorensis A.Chev. (Black Afara) seedlings which belongs to the family Combretaceae. Seedlings were raised on Vermicast (100%), Vermicast + Topsoil (1:1,) and topsoil media. There were three (3) treatments, replicated four (4) times and laid in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The experiment was monitored for 12 weeks and the following variables were assessed, plant height (cm), stem diameter (mm), leaf production and the leaf area (cm2 ). Data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results revealed that the seedling growth parameters measured were not significantly affected by the vermicast treatments at 5% probability level, except plant height. The best performance was observed in the seedlings raised with T2 (Vermicast + Topsoil) in plant height, stem diameter, leaf production and leaf area with mean values of 28.55cm, 0.55mm, 18.25 and 38.87cm2 respectively while the least performance was recorded in T3 (100% top soil) in plant height, stem diameter, leaf production and leaf area with mean values of 22.06cm, 0.49mm, 15.25 and 49.72cm2 respectively. It is therefore recommended that 50% vermicast should be used to improve the growth media in order to enhance the early growth of Terminalia ivorensis seedlings at the nursery stage.Keywords: Vermicast, Terminalia ivorensis, Early Growth, Seedling

Assessment of the growth of Vernonia amygdalina (L) with organic and inorganic manure

This research assessed the growth of Vernonia amygdalina (L) seedlings with organic and inorganic manure at different levels. Two weeks after transplanting, cowdung and NPK 15:15:15 at two different levels were applied to the seedlings, using Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Parameters assessed include collar diameter, shoot height, leaf number and branching. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis. The result revealed that seedlings that received 1g and 1.5g of NPK performed better than those with 5g and 10g of cowdung. Plants with 1g of NPK had the highest mean shoot height and mean collar diameter of 16.25cm and 5.98mm while those with 5g of cowdung had low mean shoot height and collar diameter of 5.03cm and 3.02mm respectively. Seedlings with 1.5g NPK had mean leaf and mean branch number of 13.2 and 1.20, while those with 10g of cowdung had 10.00 and 3.02 respectively. Analysis of variance revealed that significant difference for all parameters assessed among the treatments (organic, inorganic and control at different levels) except for the number of branching which was not significant at p< 0.05.Keywords: Vernonia amygdalina, organic, inorganic, cowdung, NPK, top soil