Description
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effects of organic growing media on earlyemergence and seedling growth of moringa (moringaoleifera l.). Theexperiment was conducted andthetreatmentswereT1=topsoil+cowdung,T2=topsoil+horsedropping,T3=Poultrylitter,andT4=topsoilonlywhichservesasacontrol.ThedesignadaptedduringtheexperimentwasCompleteRandomizedDesign(CRD)replicatedthreetimes.The result revealed that T2 (Topsoil + Horse dropping)gave the highest plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and collar stem girth in 2, 3 and4 weeks after planting. Hence, it can be suggested for adoption to farmers and nursery owners.Therefore, it concluded that application of organic manure especially horse dropping will enhancegerminationandearlyseedlingsgrowthofmoringainthestudyarea.Itisalsorecommendedthathorsedroppingandcowdungincombinationtotopsoilshouldbeusedaspottingmixtureattheratio2:1foreffective germination and early growth of moringaoleifera by researchers, nursery owners andfarmers.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Moringa(Moringaoleifera)widelyknownasmoringa,isatropicalcropandthemostcultivatedspecies of the family moringaceae. Moringaoleifera is the most widely cultivated because of its highnutritional, medicinal, agricultural, domestic and environmental purposes. Moringa plants are easilyestablished either by cuttings or seeds. Seeds are either sown directly in the field at the onset of therainy season or planted in nurseries. Nursery operations involve raising seedlings in different media.Nursery potting media influence quality of seedlings produced thereof (Agbo et al., 2016) which subsequentlyinfluences their establishment and productivity in the field (Becker et al., 2015). The traditional nursery potting mediumin Nigeria is topsoil dug from farmland and amended with poultry manure. Digging agricultural soilsnotonlyrendersthelandunproductiveforcropping,butalsomakesitpronetoerosionandotherformsof degradation (Baiyeri, 2013). Moringa is a fast-growing, deep-rooted dicotyledonous plant with tuberous taprootsystem. It is drought-tolerant and can thrive well in poor soils with little or no fertilization. Moringaoleifera plants can be irrigated during the dry season but should not be water-logged to avoid root rot.Thetreescangrowuptoaheightof15m.Theleavesaretri-pinnate,usually25-60cmlong.Theplantsfloweraboutthreetimesayearandproduceaverageof17tonnesofseeds/ha/annuminNigeria(Ndubuaku et al., 2016).Theflowersarepollinatedbybees.Theseedshaveveryshortdormancyperiodandcangerminatepromptlyimmediatelyafterharvest.Theseedsgerminatewithinfivetotendaysofplantingandtheseedlingshave short nursery life span (four to eight weeks) because of the fast growing nature of the plants (Fuglie, 2011).The seeds lose their viability within one year of storage. Moringa can also be propagated using maturestem cuttings. The cuttings produce roots within two weeks of planting without any rooting hormone.The leaves are good sources of protein, minerals, vitamins, beta-carotene, amino acids and variousphenolic compounds (Fuglie, 2011). It is environmentally – friendly because of its ability to absorb a lot of theatmosphericcarbondioxideforitsall-year-roundleafproduction(evergreenplant).
Germination and seedling growth of moringa depends on environmental andgenetic factors. Moringa seeds have no dormancy period, so they can be planted as soon as they arematuredand willretaintheabilityto germinatefortheperiod of one year.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Recently, attention has been directed towards organic manure because of the rising cost of inorganic fertilizers coupled with their inability to give the soil the desired sound health (Oyedeji et al., 2014). In a related literature, effects of compost applied on growth parameters were studied (Asante et al., 2012, Huda et al., 2016), but the application of different amounts has not yet been investigated. The use of organic manure to fertilize moringa in the field is increasing, but very few studies have been carried out to evaluate the effect of this fertilizer in the nursery. This inadequacy makes it difficult to make any recommendation to farmers on the quantity and type of organic manure to apply.
1.3 Aim and Objectives of the study
The main aim of this seminar is to study the effect of organic manures on the early growth of moringaoleifera plant on the nursery. The objectives are:
- To study the efficacy of using organic manure on the early growth of moringaoleifera plant.
- To study the benefit of organic manure
- To study the benefit of organic manure
- To performed an experiment that determine the effect of organic manures on the early growth of MoringaOleifera plants
1.4 Significance of the study
This study will serve as a means of understanding the advantages of using organic manure and reason why organic manure is chosen over fertilizers.
