ASSESING THE RESIDUAL PERFORMANCE OF CURED AND UNCURED POULTRY DROPPING ON AMARANTH (AMARANTHUS VIRIDIS L.) PRODUCTION AND SOIL QUALITY

Abstract

Addition of poultry Manure (PM) to a piece of land at a given rate has been speculated to enhance Amaranth yield, increase land-use and improve soil quality. To address this speculation, the residual effects of Cured Poultry Dropping (CPD) and uncured Poultry Dropping (UPD) at different rate of application (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg N/ha) were evaluated on Amaranth (Amaranthus viridis) production during two growing seasons at the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Ibadan. The effects of CPD and UPD on the yield of Amaranth and some post cropping soil properties were assessed. 150 kg N ha-1 UCP had higher fresh and dry biomass yield (12.14 t/ha and 1.94 t/ha) in dry season, while 100 kg N ha-1 CPD gave better yield (19.6 t/ha and 3.98 t/ha) at wet season. The post soil chemical properties showed that 150 kg N ha-1 CPD by standard deviation increased the organic carbon (43.1 g/kg), nitrogen (9.4 g/kg), phosphorus (55 mg/kg), and Calcium (9.5 Cmol/kg) content at dry season. While100 kg N ha-1 CPD increased the nitrogen (9.6 g/kg), organic carbon (36.1 g/kg), phosphorus (56 mg/kg) content at wet season. Although, there was significant difference amongst the rates of application in terms of yield at dry season, CPD still left the soil in better condition for subsequent cropping.