Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 12(1):80-84 Published March, 2016 Law-Ogbomo and Osaigbovo, 2016

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1 GROWTH AND YIELD OF EWEDU (Corchorus olitorius) AS INFLUENCED BY FOOD WASTE COMPOST AND INORGANIC FERTILIZER IN A HUMID ULTISOL OF SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA ABSTRACT Law-Ogbomo *, K. E. and Osaigbovo, A. U. Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, PMB 1154, Benin City , Nigeria. *Corresponding Author e mail: kolalawogbomo@yahoo.com Studies were conducted on the separate and combined effect of food waste compost and NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer application on growth and yield of ewedu Corchorus olitorius as an on-farm trial at Evboneka near Benin City, Nigeria during the rainy seasons of 2009 and The trial involved four levels of composted food waste (0, 5, 10, 15 t ha -1 ) and NPK 15:15:15 (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha -1 ) in a factorial arrangement fitted into randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Results obtained revealed that food waste compost at 15 t ha -1 significantly improved plant height, number of leaves and leaf area index (LAI) (DM), herbage yield and dry matter yield. It was not significantly different from 10 t ha -1 for leaf area index. NPK applied at 300 kg ha -1 significantly improved plant height, number of leaves, LAI, herbage yield and dry matter yield of Corchorus olitorius. It was however not significantly different from 100 and 200 kg ha -1 for number of leaves and leaf area index. There was no significant interaction between food waste compost and NPK. The highest herbage (7.55 t ha -1 ) and dry matter (4.04 t ha -1 ) yields were obtained with 10 t food waste compost. Keywords: Corchorus olitorius, Dry matter yield, food waste compost, herbage yield, inorganic fertilizer. INTRODUCTION Low soil fertility status has resulted in low crop yield and quality (Fashina et al., 2002). Thus, there arises the need to source for suitable soil amendments in order to produce crop at a profitable level. Since, crop can only express their full potentials when adequately nourished with the required nutrient derived from inorganic and organic fertilizers. Inorganic fertilizers exert strong influence on plant growth, development and yield (Stefano et al., 2004). The availability of sufficient nutrients from inorganic fertilizer leads to improved cell activities, enhanced cell multiplication and enlargement and luxuriant growth (Fashina et al., 2002). Luxuriant growth resulting from inorganic fertilizer application leads to larger dry matter accumulation owing to better utilization of solar radiation and nutrient (Obi et al., 2005). According to Law-Ogbomo and Remison (2007) inorganic fertilizer is the quickest and easiest way of increasing yield per unit area. However, the problem with inorganic fertilizer application is that it leads to pollution of ground water and long term deterioration of soil physical properties especially the soil structure owing to the depletion of organic matter (Gordon et al., 1995). Other problems include non-readily available to farmers and high cost. Many crops respond well to the application of organic fertilizer obtained from composted organic materials (Ibeawuchi et al., 2006). Organic matter can sustain yield under continuous cropping on most soils (Maynard, 1991). It improves soil properties as well as crop yields and nutritional values (Maharishan et al., 2004). Food wastes are food that are discarded or lost uneaten. According to FAO (2011) 1.3 billion tons of food which is about one third of the global food production was lost as food wastes in In Nigeria, food wastes of 0.81 million metric tons was reported between (Igberaese and Okojie-Okoedo, 2010). Igberaese (2004) reported that food wastes at ceremonies especially in Edo state, Nigeria, on weekends in a month are enough to feed the State for a month. These wastes are mainly disposed in land fill sites or burnt. This creates various environmental hazards such as putrid smell, contamination of ground and surface water and the emission of harmful gas and toxic ashes (Chitravadivu et al., 2009). This disposal problem could be solved by composting these wastes to produce organic fertilizer that will improve crop productivity and ensure clean environment. The quantity and quality of organic fertilizer required for optimal crop production limit its use on large scale. The ever-increasing cost of inorganic fertilizer does not make farmers to maximize profit. The combination of organic and inorganic fertilizer in a sustainable ratio seems to be the best strategy. This trial was undertaken to determine the effect of food waste compost and NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer on the growth and yield of Corchorus olitorius in a humid ultisol location with a view to formulate and recommend fertilizer requirement for sustainable production of C. olitorius. MATERIALS AND METHODS NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 1,

2 Two field on-farm trials were conducted during the rainy seasons of 2009 and 2010 at Evboneka Village near, Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. Evboneka is located in a humid rainforest zone of Nigeria. The location lie within Latitude 6 14 and 7 34 north and Longitude 5 41 and 6 43 east. Prior to land preparation, the site was dominated by Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) which was cleared manually and the site pegged and laid out into plots measuring 2 m x 3 m with spacing of 0.5 m between plots and 1 m spacing block blocks. Composite soil sample (0-30 cm depth) was taken from site, air dried in laboratory, ground, sieved through a 2 mm sieve and analyzed in the laboratory as described by Maylavarapus and Kennelley (2002). Food wastes were collected from nearby restaurants and composted for 16 weeks. NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer and C. olitorius seeds variety NHCO-2 were obtained from National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan. The trials were laid out as a 4 x 4 factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design with three replications. The factors were: levels of food waste compost (FWC) (0, 5, 10 and 15 t ha -1 ) and NPK 15:15:15 (0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha -1 ). Before planting out in the field, FWC were thoroughly mixed with the soil and then left for two weeks to allow for mineralization. NPK fertilizer was applied two week after transplanting (WAT). C. olitorius seedlings were raised in seed trays and were transplanted to the field four weeks after sowing. Before sowing, the seeds were steeped into boiling water for 10 seconds to break dormancy. Crop growth was assessed through morphological parameters such as plant height, number of leaves and leaf area index (LAI) at two weeks interval. Leaf area was determined by using tracing method, which involves tracing leaf samples on centimetre graph paper (Remison, 1997). LAI was computed as: LAI = Total Leaf Area Total Land Area (Remison, 1997). All parameters were determined in-situ on five randomly tagged plants per plot. At 10 weeks after transplanting (WAT), plant samples were carefully uprooted and the fresh herbage yields as well as the total dry matter obtained using ISTA (1993) procedure. Data collected were statistically analyzed using combined analysis of variance over two years period and means separation were done using Least Significant Differences (LSD) at 5% level of probability. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The properties of the soil of the pre-cropping site are presented in Table 1. The soil was acidic, sandy loam and contained nutrient elements which were below the critical levels (Ibude et al., 1988). Hence, the soil has low fertility status. This observation confirmed Akanbi and Togun (2002) who reported that most African soils are impoverished due to weathering, leaching and intensive cultivation. The resultant effect of this is poor yield is that reasonable crop yield cannot be achieved without the use of soil amendment. There is need to augment the soil nutrient with fertilizer application in the form of organic or inorganic fertilizer. Table 1: Soil routine properties of the experimental site before cropping with C. olitorious Property Status Critical Level* ph (H2O) 4.43 Organic carbon (%) 0.80 Organic matter (%) Total nitrogen (%) Available P (mg kg -1 ) Exchangeable cations (cmol kg -1 ) Calcium Potassium Magnesium Ca/Mg ratio Particle size analysis (g kg -1 ) Clay 130 Silt 10 Sand 860 Textural class sandy loam *Ibude et al.,(1988) NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 1,

3 Food waste compost (FWC) has considerable contents of N, P, K, Mg and Ca (Table 2). These nutrients can be utilized by crops for optimal performance through slow release after mineralization. The high carbon content can improve the soil structure leading to improvement of the soil physical conditions. Table 2: Chemical composition of food waste compost Parameter Value ph (H2O) 7.40 Nitrogen 1.80 % Phosphorus 1.65 % Potassium 2.00 % Calcium 6.05 % Magnesium 4.18 % The effect of FWC and NPK application on the growth of C. olitorious is presented in Table 3. Generally, all the assessed characters increased with age up to 6 WAT. The increase in growth of C. olitorious under FWC and NPK treated plants confirmed the role of fertilizer in promoting vigorous vegetative growth in leafy vegetables (Tisdale and Nelson, 1990). The greater growth values recorded from the FWC treated plots at two WAT in relation to NPK application indicated that the added nutrients from organic fertilizer applied to the field four weeks earlier were available to the plants (Ayoola and Makinde, 2009). Food waste compost (FWC) application had significant effect on plant height throughout the sampling periods with the tallest plants observed with 15 t FWC ha -1 throughout sampling periods. NPK application had significant effect on plant only at 4 WAT with application rates of 200 and 300 kg ha -1. There was no significant different in plant height between plants observed in plots treated with 0 and 100 kg NPK ha -1. Plants grown with FWC were taller than those grown with NPK at application rates 10 and 15 t ha -1. However, there was no significant interaction between FWC and NPK. Number of leaves followed similar trend as plant height. Plants treated with FWC had higher number of leaves than those treated with NPK. The number of leaves per plant increased gradually up to 6 WAT. FWC application had significant effect on number of leaves at all the sampling periods. At each sampling period, number of leaves increased with increasing FWC reaching peak at 15 t ha -1. Plots with 0 t FWC ha -1 had the least number of leaves while plots treated with 15 t FWC ha -1 had the highest. Number of leaves per stand was significantly influenced by NPK application at 4 and 6 WAT. The response of leaves to NPK rate was linear. However, 100 kg NPK ha -1 was at par with 0 kg NPK ha -1 at 4 WAT. At 6 WAT, all NPK rates were at par and significantly different from untreated control. The interactive effects of FWC and NPK were not significant between 2 6 WAT. Application of FWC led to significant enhancement of LAI over control at 6 WAT. The highest LAI were observed in plots treated with 10 and 15 t FWC ha -1. The LAI observed under control and 5 t FWC ha -1 were at par and significantly inferior to the values observed under other FWC rates. Application of 200 and 300 kg NPK ha -1 resulted in significant higher values than in control in LAI at 6 WAT. However, 200 and 300 kg NPK ha -1 were at par. The interactive effects of FWC and NPK rates were not significant on LAI. Plants grown with FWC had better LAI than those grown with NPK. Table 3: Effects of food waste compost and NPK application on the growth of C. olitorious Treatment Plant height (cm) WAT Number of leaves WAT Leaf area index WAT Food waste (t ha -1 ) LSD(0.05) ns ns NPK (kg ha -1 ) LSD(0.05) ns ns ns ns ns LSD(0.05) FWC x NPK ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns ns FWC food waste compost WAT Weeks after transplanting NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 1,

4 The effect of FWC and NPK application on herbage yield is contained in Table 4. The herbage yield was significantly influenced by FWC application. Herbage yield increased with increases in FWC reaching peak at 10 t ha -1 and significantly declined at 15 t ha -1. The herbage yield obtained from 10 t FWC ha -1 was between 83 and 37 % higher than values obtained from 0 and 5 t FWC ha -1 respectively. NPK application significantly influenced the herbage. Herbage yield increased with increasing NPK rate reaching peak at 300 kg NPK ha -1 (6.78 t ha -1 ) which was significantly higher than all other NPK rates. The interactive effects of FWC and NPK application on herbage yield were non-significant. Low yield response of untreated control might be attributed to pronounced negative consequence of low native fertility on physiological processes such as production of certain organic compounds like proteins, nucleic acids, phenol as reported by Akanbi and Togun (2002). Less fresh herbage yield obtained from plants treated with NPK compared to FWC application may have resulted from a decrease in fertilizer efficiency due to losses from volatilization and leaching (Obi et al., 2005). Application of FWC led to significant enhancement of dry matter yield over the control. The highest dry matter yield was obtained with FWC ha -1 (4.04 t ha -1 ) and the least was from control (2.45 t ha -1 ). Application of 100, 200 and 300 kg NPK ha -1 resulted in significant increase over control in dry matter yield. The highest dry matter yield was obtained with 300 kg NPK ha -1 (3.56 t ha -1 ). The interactive effects of FWC and NPK rate were not significant on dry matter yield. Corchorus olitorius showed a positive response to the soil amendments as the dry matter yield (biological yield) was increased in the treated plots compared to the control. This was attributed to increased availability of nutrients in the treated plots and consequent utilization for dry matter production by the plant. These results are in conformity with Bano et al. (1987). Food waste compost (FWC) gave better quality as evidenced through higher dry matter content indicating less fibre content and more accumulation of nutrients in comparison to inorganic fertilizer treatment and control (Sanwal et al., 2007). Table 4: Effects of food waste compost and NPK application on the yield of C. olitorious Treatment Herbage yield Dry matter yield (t ha -1 ) (t ha -1 ) Food waste (t ha -1 ) LSD(0.05) NPK (kg ha -1 ) LSD(0.05) LSD(0.05) FWC x NPK ns ns FWC Food waste compost ns Not significant CONCLUSION Integration of nutrients from food waste and NPK is essential to sustain and improve crop yield in continuous cultivation system. This was to minimize the effects of inorganic fertilizer and bulky nature of the organic fertilizer. Complementary use of both fertilizer types would enhance crop performance due to the presence of relatively high organic matter in food waste compost which enhanced the efficient use of NPK. Results obtained in the study revealed that FWC and NPK application had effects on the fresh herbage and dry matter yield. However, interactive effects between FWC and NPK application were not significant. Optimum yield was obtained from 10 t FWC ha -1 based on the fact that, the highest herbage and dry matter yield was obtained. REFERENCES Akanbi, W. B. and Togun, A. O The influence of maize Stover compost and nitrogen fertilizer on growth, yield and nutrient uptake of Amaranth. Scientia Horticulturae 93: 1-9 Ayoola, O. T. and Makinde, E. A Maize growth, yield and soil nutrient changes with N-enriched organic fertilizers. Afric. J. Food, Agric. Nutri. and Devt. 9: Bano, K., Kale, R. D. and Gajanan, G. G Culturing earth worms Eudrillus euginae for the cast production and assessment of worm cast as biofertilizer. J. Soil Biol. and Eco. 7: NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 1,

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