Abstract
The effects of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate on the growth and yield of pineapple were investigated in Port Harcourt. The aim was to determine the most productive soil enrichment material that will enhance the production of pineapple in the area. A complete randomized block design with three replications was adopted. Data were collected monthly for eight months. Results shows that spent mushroom substrate and poultry manure did not show any significant (P < 0.05) difference on growth performance and on yield. But spent mushroom substrate gave a higher plant height (85.5 cm) than poultry manure (81.0 cm) all at 500 g rate of application per plant. Poultry manure gave a higher number of fruits (7) which weighed 13.52 kg/plot than soil enriched with spent mushroom substrate which produced 6 fruits weighing 12.42 kg/plot. The control (No treatment) exhibited a significant (P < 0.05) difference among other treatment. Its plant height was 67.75 cm while it gave a yield of 3 fruits (6.95 kg/plot). Therefore, poultry manure was observed to perform better during fruit production while spent mushroom substrate enhanced growth performance on the studied crop. Key words: Poultry manure, spent mushroom substrate, soil enrichment, pineapple, Nigeria.
Highlights
Poultry manure is an organic material and is one of the soil enrichment materials
The use of various sources of organic materials has been promoted as one of the principal sustainable management options for improving soil quality and productivity (Widmer et al, 2002). Organic materials such as green manure, crop residues, cow dung and poultry manure used in improving soil fertility have been found to control root disease including nematodes (Poswal and Akpal, 1991)
From the result of the final soil analysis, there was increase in the nutrient status of the soil after harvest of the fruits resulting from the application of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate as soil enrichment material (Table 1)
Summary
Poultry manure is an organic material and is one of the soil enrichment materials. The use of various sources of organic materials has been promoted as one of the principal sustainable management options for improving soil quality and productivity (Widmer et al, 2002). Organic materials such as green manure, crop residues, cow dung and poultry manure used in improving soil fertility have been found to control root disease including nematodes (Poswal and Akpal, 1991). The application of organic materials to the soil is an alternative strategy for sustainable crop production with no documental negative effect of organic soil enrichment on non-target organisms (Agyarko and Asante, 2005).
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