Effect of Different Types of Fertilizers on Stevia Rebaudiana Production in Rwanda

Abstract

Fertilizers are recognized as limiting factors for crop growth in Rwanda. The choice of fertilizers to be used for a certain crop in certain soil is crucial for production. The experiment was conducted in Rubona and Ntendezi stations of Rwanda Agriculture and Animal resources Development Board (RAB) during seasons 2021A and 2021B respectively. The objectives were to develop guidelines for stevia production in Rwanda and increase production through promotion and utilization of good quality fertilizers in stevia production. The treatments included four types of organic manures (cow dung, poultry manure, compost and pig manure), three inorganic fertilizers (NPK, DAP and urea) and control or check (without fertilizer Plant sampling was done once a week to measure plant height, number of tillers, internodes and to measure yield at harvest. . The results revealed a significant interaction between treatments and plant height. Poultry manure played more dominant role in increasing plant height (44.51m), cow dung was the second (43.50m) while control treatment showed minimum contribution in increasing number of stevia height (39.76m). Poultry manure also played dominant role in increasing number of tillers (22.76), urea was the second (21.0) while control treatment showed minimum contribution in increasing number of stevia tillers (16.8). The yield of harvested fresh leaves of stevia that resulted from poultry manure has shown at least height yield in comparison with other treatments. Keywords: Fertilizers, Types of fertilizers, Stevia rebaudiana, production