Preliminary evaluation of the Effects of organic materials and NPK fertilizer on the growth and yield of muskmelon (Cucumis melo)

Abstract

The soils of the southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria are low in organic matter content due to constant bush burning which depletes the soil of valuable organic materials and the fallow period has been shortened due to increase in population and infrastructural development. However, organic residues abound in the zone, which can be utilized by farmers for soil fertility restoration. A field trial was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria during the 2015 cropping season to determine the effect of different organic manures and NPK fertilizer on the performance of muskmelon. The trial consisted of five treatments; control, poultry manure, cow dung, goat manure and NPK fertilizer. The organic materials were applied at the rate of 10 tha-1 while the NPK fertilizer was applied at 300 kgha-1. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design, replicated thrice. The result indicated that using NPK fertilizer recorded the highest growth and yield attributes which were similar to the poultry manure applied plots but significantly different (p<0.05) from the control plot. Although the NPK treatment outperformed the organic manures, it is expensive, not readily available and environmentally unfriendly. However, poultry and goat manures can be used for fertility restoration in the cultivation of muskmelon as the economic analysis indicated a slight difference (#0.04) in the return per investment by applying the NPK fertilizer and the poultry manure. The manures on the other hand, are cheap, readily available and leave no residues on the environment.