UJET VOL. 2, NO. 2, DEC Page 1

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1 UMUDIKE JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (UJET), VOL., NO., DEC 06 PAGE - 7 ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF BIOFERTILIZER FROM THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF COW DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum bicolor PRODUCTION * Igboro S. B, Alfa M. I., Wato B. A. and Dabup N. E. Department of Water Resources & Environmental Department of Civil Engineering, University of Jos, Jos, Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Nigeria ABSTRACT Utilization of biofertilizer has been identified as an alternative to chemical fertilizer in increasing soil fertility and crop production for sustainable crop production. The evaluation of the performance of biofertilizer obtained from the anaerobic digestion of Zaria abattoir Cow dung relative to that of NPK fertilizer was carried out in this study with respect to changes to soil properties and the growth of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor. The application of treatments included control (no fertilizer), NPK fertilizer and biofertilizer. The results obtained for both the soil analysis and crop growth rate and yield were subjected to a two way Analysis of Variance at 95% confidence level. Except for the ph value, the results showed that there was significance difference between the values of Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorus and Potassium before and after cultivation for all the treatments (p=0.56>0.05 and p=0.00<0.05 respectively). The average weight (kg) and number of cobs for the biofertilizer, NPK and No treatment plots were respectively.5±0.504 and ±.8, 5.5±0. and 9.5±.87,.5±0.54 respectively. The yield of guinea corn from the biofertilizer treatment plot [±.8 stalks (.66±0.50 kg)] was also comparable to that of the NPK treatment plot [9.5±.85 stalks (.655±0.00 kg)] and was higher than that of the plot without treatment [7.56±.87 stalks (.±0.00 kg)]. The statistical analysis revealed that the effect of treatment was significant in the growth and yield of both Maize and Guinea corn. The study concluded that biofertilizer from cow dung can be a viable alternative to NPK fertilizer for the production of Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor. Key Words: Biofertlizer, Plant growth, Sorghum bicolour, Soil properties, Zea mays.0 INTRODUCTION Anaerobic digestion is fast becoming a popular technology in Africa and other developing economies for the production of very useful biofertilizers for crop production and as a panacea to energy poverty and waste management problems (Alfa et al., 04; Cheng et al., 04; Owamah et al., 04; Yu et al., 008). As pressure mounts on several nations of the world to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, there is a consensus of opinion that the use of biofertilizers from anaerobic digestion of organic waste could help to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger in developing economies (Alfa et al., 04). degree of availability of nutrients in a form that plants can easily assimilate and they also mobilize nutritive elements from non- usable form to usable form through biological *Corresponding Author: Igboro S. B. igboro@yahoo.com processes (Owamah et al., 04). Apart from their ability to improve soil fertility for healthy plant growth of plant and facilitate nutrient uptake by plants, researches have shown that biofertilizers can significantly prevent several plant diseases (Wu et al., 005). Biogas produced from the anaerobic digestion process is composed principally of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO). Thus, the process leaves nutrients like nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) behind in the digestate which are very essential to plant growth (Igboro, 0). Apart from these essential plant nutrients, species of bacteria and fungi implicated in the microbial analysis of digestate biofertilizer in a previous study (Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Clostridium, Bacillus, Bacteroides, Penicillum, Shigella, Salmonella and Aspergillus) were found to enhance nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization and growth promoters for crop plants (Alfa et al., 04). The utilization of biofertilizers has several advantages over conventional inorganic (chemicals) fertilizers for agricultural UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page

2 DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 purposes. As a microbial product, they are safer; pose no risk of accumulation of toxic substances or microbes themselves in the food chain; the microbes are selfreplicating thus removing the need for repeated applications; less risk of the target harmful pests and organisms developing resistance as is the case when chemical agents are used as pesticides and biofertilizers are more environmental friendly compared to the chemical ones (Compant et al., 005; Shen, 997; Wu et al., 005). Utilization of biofertilizers hold a great prospect in the improvement of crop yields through environmentally friendly and better nutrient supplies which would eventually guarantee food security for developing nations. This has qualified them as an important integral component of the integrated nutrient supply system. Thus the utilization of digestate biofertilizer of cow dung could be an economical means of waste management, soil fertility improvement as well as the amelioration of adverse negative impact of chemical fertilizers on the soil. The aim of this study therefore is to compare the effect of biofertilizer of cow dung digestate with that of NPK inorganic fertilizer on soil properties and yield of Zea mays (maize) and Sorghum bicolor (guinea corn)..0 MATERIALS AND METHODS.. Land Preparation and Soil Analysis.. Land Preparation Six (6) numbers of m x m plots spaced m apart were obtained on the grounds of Samaru College of Agriculture Division of Agricultural Colleges, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state, cleared, ploughed and properly harrowed for the cultivation of maize. The same number of plots were obtained and prepared for the cultivation of guinea corn. The plots were designated in duplicates both for the maize plots and guinea corn plots as Biofertilizer, NPK and No treatment indicating the respective treatments while the average of the two replicate plots served as the third replicate for the purpose of statistical analysis. The No treatment plots were to serve as control in order to establish whether the treatments had any impact on the soil fertility and yield or not. The basic properties of the soil were measured before treatment in order to ascertain any change that may occur after cultivation. The properties measured were ph, Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorous and Potassium. These properties were also measured immediately after harvesting of crops and the results compared. The results obtained were subject to a two-way Analysis of Variance ( way ANOVA) to ascertain whether the level of significance different between the plots, the treatments (biofertilizer, NPK and No ) as well as the interactions of both... Soil Analysis Soil samples were collected randomly from the various plots before treatments to establish a baseline condition. After harvesting the crops from the farm, samples were also collected from plots which received similar treatments. The samples were analyzed for ph, Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorous and Potassium using standard methods described previously in Igboro (0)... Biofertilizer Preparation and Field Application Anaerobic digestion of cow dung was carried out in the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (Igboro, 0). The digestate was collected after the completion of the 40 days digestion period, dewatered and allowed to cure for 0days in sacks. The physico-chemical characteristics of the cured compost biofertilizer were measured using standard methods described in (Igboro, 0; Alfa et al., 04; Owama et al., 04) and the results presented in Table. The digester compost was applied to two plots designated as Biofertilzer following standard method of fertilizer applications for the production of maize while the N.P.K 5:5:5 (inorganic fertilizer) was applied to two plots designated as NPK and the last two were left without fertilizer application to serve as control. The same procedure was repeated for the plots for guinea corn cultivation.. Planting of Crop, Plant growth Observations, Harvesting and Post Harvesting s After the preparation of the respective plots, two seeds each of Zea mays (Maize) and sorghum bicolor (Guinea corn) were individually planted on the 6 plots spaced 0 cm apart (intra and intra rows). The germination date was noted for all the plots while plant heights and the widths of stems were measured daily for the first three days after germination then weekly thereafter until the plants started tasseling and heading respectively. On maturity, the crops were harvested, allowed to dry for weeks and weighed before storage without any preservatives. UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page

3 DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 Table : Characteristics of Biofertilizer from Anaerobic Digestion of Cow Dung Parameter Percentage (%) Carbon 9.90±0. Nitrogen.6±0. Carbon / Nitrogen ratio 6.9±. Nitrate 0.0±0.0 Nitrite 0.07±0.0 Ash content 46.00±4.8 Moisture content (%w/w) 6.45±0.0 Sulphate 0.097±0.0 Phosphate.7±0. ph 7.±0. Source: Igboro (0) The results obtained were subjected to two way Analysis of Variance ( way ANOVA) using MINITAB 4..0 Statistical Software. The experimental design was by with the treatments being Biofertilizer, NPK and No treatment while the replicates were plot, plot and the average of the two plots. The analysis was carried at 0.05 level of Significance..0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS. Soil Properties Various treatments of the plots resulted in property changes as shown in table. The results of the way ANOVA carried out between the soil parameters before and after cultivation showed that there was no significant difference in the ph values between the s (p=0.56>0.05). The p-value of (<0.05) obtained for the other parameters show that there was significant difference between values of Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorus, and Potassium for the respective treatments. This implies that the treatments had effect on the values of these parameters after cultivation. Notwithstanding, marginal change in ph value for the biofertilizer treatment towards neutrality could be attributed to activities of methanogens which are acid lovers in the digestate using up the acid thereby raising the ph towards neutrality (Alvarez et al., 006). Generally, it can be observed that biofertilizer did not have any deteriorating impact on the soil as it either maintain or improved the essential nutrient content of the soil samples tested.. Growth rate and Yield of Crops.. Maize Height and Diameter of Mature Maize The results of the observation of the growth of Maize in this study are presented on table. The results show the average height and stem diameter of the matured plant as well as the estimated average growth rate based on the measurements obtained throughout the period of observation. Table : Average Soil Condition of the Field before and After Cultivation Parameters Before Cultivation Biofertilizer Plot NPK Plot No Plot ph 5.5±0. 5.6± ± ±0. Total Nitrogen (%) 0.04± ± ± ±0.008 Available Phosphorous (ppm) 5.5± ±0.7.95±0.8.7±0.5 Potassium (cmo/kg) 0.± ± ± ±0.0 Table : Height, Diameter and Average Growth rate, of Mature Maize Parameter (Average) Biofertilizer NPK No Height (cm) 57.7± ± ±7.7 Diameter (cm) 4.55± ±0.5.5±0.5 Growth Rate (cm/day) 0.± ± ±0.6 UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page

4 Average Plant Diameter (cm) Average Plant Height (cm) ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF BIOFERTILIZER FROM THE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF OF COW DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 The cumulative heights and diameter of the plants for the respective plots observed are also presented on Figures and respectively. BIOFERTILIZ ER and the treatments show that there was no difference in the treatment effects across the plots. Yield of Maize Time (Days) NPK The yield of maize from the respective treatment plots and the control plots were measured in this study. The average number of cobs and average weight of maize cobs produced by the various treatments are presented on table 4. Figure : Average Cummulative Heigth of Maize for the Different s Biofertilizer NPK No Time (Days) Figure : Average Cummulative Diameter of Maize for the Different s The results presented on Figures and also confirm the aforementioned. The figures reveal that at full maturity, the biofertilizer maize and the NPK maize had nearly equal height (Fig ) and exactly the same stem diameter (Fig ). The difference between the heights and diameters of the treatment plots from the control plots is significant (p=0.000<0.05 in both cases). On the other hand, the P- values of 0.5 (>0.05), (>0.05) and (>0.05) obtained respectively for the interactions between the plots While the control plots produced an average of 6.50±.87 cobs with average weight of.5±.087 kg, the biofertilizer and NPK treated plots respectively produced ±.8 cobs (.56± kg) and 9.5±.87 cobs ( ±0.00 kg). Similarly, the control plots produced the lowest number and weight of cobs confirming that the various treatments actually had an obvious impact on the production of maize. This assertion was buttressed by the results of the Analysis of Variance which showed that the difference in the yield of maize (both in the number and weight of cobs) was significant (p=0.000<0.05 in both cases). The results of the ANOVA for the number of cons further reveal that the effect of treatment was significant across the replica plots (p=0.00<0.05) but the reverse was the case for the weight of cobs (P=0.648>0.05). While the biofertilizer plot produced more cobs than the NPK plots, the weight of the cobs were observed to be lower than that of the NPK plots. Notwithstanding this observed difference in weight, the biofertilizer plot production was still comparable with those of the NPK plot. Figures and 4 further explain the preceding assertions. Table 4: Average Weight and Number of Maize Cobs Produced from Biofertilizer, NPK Fertilizer and No Plots Biofertilizer NPK No Weight of Cobs (kg).56± ±0.00.5±.087 No. of cobs ±.8 9.5± ±.87 UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page 4

5 DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 Weight Plot Figure : Boxplot of No. of stalks Guinea corn vs Plot,.. Guinea Corn Height of Matured Mature Guinea Corn The results of the observation of the growth of Guinea corn from germination to maturity is shown on Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 shows the cumulative heights of guinea corn from germination to maturity for the different treatments while Figure 6 shows the daily height variation as observed in the period of study. Boxplot of No of cobs vs Plot, 5 0 No of cobs Plot Figure 4: Boxplot of Weight of Guinea corn vs Plot, Pest Resistance The maize produced from the various plots were allowed to dry for weeks, shelled and stored in polythene bags for a year without adding any preservative. This was done to observe their respective resistance to pests. After one year storage, they were brought out for observation. While the NPK and No treatment (Control) maize already had weevil holes, the biofertilizer maize had no weevil holes. The preservative capability of biofertilizers cannot be substantiated however, and this may require further investigation in subsequent research. Figure 5: Effect of treatments on Average Cummulative Height of Guinea Corn Figure 6: Effect of treatments on Variation in the Average Height of Guinea Furthermore, the Average height and diameter of Guinea corn at full maturity are presented on Table 5. Table 5: Average Height and Diameter of Mature Guinea corn Biofertilizer NPK No Height (cm) 85.6± ±.7 5±.98 Diameter (cm) 4.5± ±0.07.8±0.06 UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page 5

6 DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 Table 6: Average Number and Weight of Guinea corn stalks Produced from Biofertilizer, NPK Fertilizer and No Plots Biofertilizer NPK No No. of Stalks ±.8 9.5± ±.87 Weight of stalk (kg).66± ±0.00.±0.00 The guinea corn which received NPK had the highest cumulative height followed by the biofertlizer guinea corn. The results of the Analysis of Variance carried out on the heights obtained revealed P-values of 0.7, and 0.7 respectively for the Plots, s and the Interractions. It can be seen from the P-values that the effect of treatment on the height of Guinea corn was significant (P=0.000<0.05) but the effect of treatment was not significan across the plots (P=0.7>0.05). Although he NPK guinea corn grew taller according to the foregoing, biofertilizer could facilitate the growth of guinea corn at a rate comparable with that of inorganic (chemical) fertilizer.with the aforementioned soil improvement edge of the biofertilizer over the NPK, biofertilizer could become the desired haven for farmers to improve soil fertility and yield of guinea corn. Yield of Guinea Corn The yield of guinea corn from the respective treatments and the control were measured, and presented on Table 6. The average number of stalks and weight of guinea corn produced from the respective treatment plots are presented on table. The results of the Analysis of Variance show that there was significant difference between the yield from the respective treatments (p=0.000<0.05). This implies that the treatments had significant effect on the yield of guinea corn this assertion can be further buttressed by the box plots on figures 7 and CONCLUSIONS The application of biofertilizer produced from cow dung anaerobic digestate containing essential nutrients and beneficial microbes showed a promoting effect on the growth and yield of Maize and Guinea corn as well as improvement of soil properties comparable to NPK (inorganic fertilizer). The fact that the biofertilizer maize had no weevils after one year suggests that there could be strains of microbes in the harvested crop which could make them inedible to the weevil. Whether these are harmful for human consumption or not should be further investigated. No of Stalks Plot Figure 7: Boxplot of No. of stalks Guinea corn vs Plot, Weight Plot Figure 8: Boxplot of Weight of Guinea Corn vs Plot, REFERENCES Alfa M., Adie D., Igboro S., Oranusi U., Dahunsi S., Akali D. (04). Assessment of biofertilizer quality and health implications of anaerobic digestion effluent of cow dung and chicken droppings. Renewable Energy 6: Boxplot of Weight vs Plot, UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page 6

7 DUNG ON Zea mays AND Sorghum biclour PRODUCTION IGBORO et al., 06 Alvarez, R., Villca, S., & Liden, G. (006).. Biogas production from llama and cow manure at high altitude. Biomass and Bioenergy, 0(), Cheng S., Li Z., Mang H.-P., Neupane K., Wauthelet M., Huba E.-M. (04). Application of fault tree approach for technical assessment of small-sized biogas systems in Nepal. Applied Energy :7-8. DOI: Compant, S., Duffy, B., Nowak, J., Clément, C., & Barka, E. A. (005). Use of plant growth-promoting bacteria for biocontrol of plant diseases: principles, mechanisms of action, and future prospects. Applied and environmental microbiology, 7(9), Igboro S. (0). Production of biogas and compost from cow dung in Zaria, Nigeria. Unpublished PhD Dissertation in the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria. Mishra B., Dadhich S. (00). Methodology of nitrogen biofertilizer production. J. Adv. Dev. Res :-6. Owamah H., Dahunsi S., Oranusi U., Alfa M. (04) Fertilizer and sanitary quality of digestate biofertilizer from the co-digestion of food waste and human excreta. Waste Management 4: Shen D. (997). Microbial diversity and application of microbial products for agricultural purposes in China. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment 6:7-45. Wu S., Cao Z., Li Z., Cheung K., Wong M. (005). Effects of biofertilizer containing N-fixer, P and K solubilizers and AM fungi on maize growth: a greenhouse trial. Geoderma 5: Yu L., Yaoqiu K., Ningsheng H., Zhifeng W., Lianzhong X. (008). Popularizing household-scale biogas digesters for rural sustainable energy development and greenhouse gas mitigation. Renewable Energy : UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 Page 7

8 UMUDIKE JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (UJET), VOL., NO., DEC 06 UJET VOL., NO., DEC 06 P a g e 8