Abstract
Field experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin, to evaluate the effect of compost, organomineral, and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield ofAmaranthus caudatusas well as its residual effects.Amaranthuswas grown with compost Grade B (unamended compost), organomineral fertilizer Grade A (compost amended with mineral fertilizer), and NPK 15-15-15 and no fertilizer (control). All the treatments except control were applied at the rate of 100 kg N/ha. The results indicated that theAmaranthusyield of 18.9 t/ha produced from Grade A was significantly (P<0.05) higher than 17.6 t/ha obtained from NPK fertilizer. Residual effect ofAmaranthusgrowth parameters such as plant height, number of leaves, and yield values obtained from Grade A was also significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of NPK, compost, and control values. Thus, organomineral fertilizer could be used in cultivation ofAmaranthus caudatusin Ilorin and in similar type of soil in similar agroecology.
Highlights
Vegetable production in Africa is as old as peasant farming though its cultivation is still at the household level with very few farmers producing on a commercial level
The experimental site was located at the experimental plot of Kwara State University, Malete (08∘4248.5N and 004∘2617.9E), Ilorin, Nigeria, which lies in the southern guinea savanna belt of Nigeria
1st planting Residual signify the need for improvement of Amaranthus caudatus performance
Summary
Vegetable production in Africa is as old as peasant farming though its cultivation is still at the household level with very few farmers producing on a commercial level. This could be due to the fact that crops such as cereals, roots, and tubers and body-building crops like legumes are given much attention. Amaranths species is a leafy vegetable in the tropical region of world. It forms a high percentage of the daily intake of leafy vegetables [2]. Amaranthus caudatus is grown for its leaves and is among the highly prized leaf vegetables in Nigeria, due to their high nutritional and commercial significance
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