EFFECTS OF BIOAMENDMENTS APPLICATION ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF Amaranthus hybridus

Abstract

Amaranthus hybridus is an indigenous vegetable grown in Nigeria and is ranked among the top ten priority indigenous vegetables in terms of production and consumption. Production of this vegetable is affected by many factors, with the source of nitrogen fertilizer being among the most important. This study aimed at investigating the effect of bioamendments application on the growth and yield of Amaranthus hybridus. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam. 20 g of Amaranthus hybridus seeds were planted into 16 beds of 3 m x 3 m each using the drilling method. The experiment was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments (bioamendments applications): T1: 3 kg Rabbit droppings, T2: 3 kg Rabbit droppings + 160 g NPK 15:15:15, T3: 5 kg Rabbit droppings and T4: 10 kg Rabbit droppings. The plant height and yield of T2 were significantly higher (P<0.05) than others due to the abundant supply of nitrogen from the combination of rabbit droppings and NPK 15:15:15. More importantly, the application of rabbit droppings at increased dose also resulted in better plant performance. Therefore, the study suggests that rabbit droppings can serve as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers.