Influence of Human Urine-compost Mixture on Some Soil Fertility Properties, Yield and Shelf-life of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon)

Abstract

Human urine, especially if combined with composts, could be a good source of fertilizer for improving soil fertility and ultimately, crop production. Thus, the focus of this study was to evaluate the influence of human urine-compost mixture on post-harvest soil fertility quality, yield and shelf-life of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon). The study had six fertilizer treatments: urine, compost, compost: urine - 1:2, compost: urine - 2:1, NPK 15-15-15 and the Control (no soil additive) laid in a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD), with four replicates. The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The treatments were applied at the rate of 90 kg K ha-1 and the effects on soil fertility status, number of fruits, fresh and dry weights, as well as shelf-life were observed, using tomato as the test crop. The urine treated soils had the highest (P<0.05) number of fruits (16.50 fruits plant-1) at the end of the first planting. At the end of the second planting, urine treatment had the highest mean dry weight of 141 kg ha-1tomato fruits, while NPK 15-15-15 resulted into the lowest yield (70 kg ha-1). Thus, human urine-compost combinations 1:2 or 2:1 nitrogen are recommended as alternatives to mineral fertilizer (NPK 15-15-15) for tomato production, for improved yield, shelf-life and soil fertility.