The effect of plant and animal organic manure on the yield of Amaranthus (white elma)

Abstract

Organic manure has a role in sustainable agriculture, and ecofriendly and economically feasible. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of plant and animal organic manure on the growth performance and yield of Amaranthus (White Elma). The study was done from the greenhouse in Botanical Gardens of Makerere University, Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology. Treatments were laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) whereby triplicates of potted plants were grown in three organic manure treatments; plant manure (PM), animal manure (AM) and the mixture of plant and animal manure (PAM) alongside the negative control (NC). The plants were monitored and data was collected on growth and yield parameters (Plant height, plant fresh and dry weight) from the different treatments. In addition, the soil physicochemical characteristics mainly nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and pH were analyzed and then recorded. Significant differences were observed in the soil physicochemical characteristics, Amaranthus fresh and dry weight as well as the height. It was noted that the growth and yield of Amaranthus was lowest in the control treatments which showed that organic manure used in the study especially the animal manure positively influenced the growth performance. Furthermore, AM was as effective as PAM in enhancing the growth and thus PAM could effectively be substituted for AM in case the animal manure is not available. The fresh and dry weight was increased by PAM as compared to both AM and PM. Based on the findings of the experiment, it could be deduced that animal manure alone and animal and plant manure when mixed in the same ratio promote higher growth and yield of Amaranthus. Thus, it should be adopted by farmers in the growing of Amaranthus.