Influence of Poultry Manure Application Rates on Red and Yellow Varieties of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) in the Marginal Mineral Soil of Bukit Kor (Marang)

Abstract

Increased crop yields and higher soil quality can be achieved by using the appropriate amount of fertiliser at the right time. A study on optimal poultry fertiliser rates for watermelon development on nutrient deficient soil, contributes to the current knowledge base. Thus, this paper intends to ascertain the effect of different application rates of poultry fertilizer on growth and yield properties of two cultivars of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) on soil with marginal nutrients. Accordingly, an experiment was conducted at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu's research farm at Bukit Kor (Marang) to compare the effects of various application rates (T1: 0T/Ha, T2: 10T/Ha, T3: 20T/Ha, T4: 30T/Ha) of poultry manure on the performance of two watermelon varieties (V1:yellow variety (golden delight) and V2:red variety (new dragon)). Several growth and yield parameters were determined, of which the treatments on the red variety at 20THa^-1 and 30THa^-1 produced the significant higher results for vine length (189.38 & 189.43cm), number of leaves (61 & 63), number of lateral branches (2.5 & 2.33), leaf area index (0.12 & 0.13), chlorophyll content SPAD (36.32 & 37.03), fruit weight (10.23 & 9.84THa^-1) and number of flowers (8.33 & 11.7). The present research, therefore, contributes to a growing body of evidence suggesting that the red variety of watermelon treated with 20THa^-1 or 30THa^-1 presented the best results.