Efficacy of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer on the Growth and Yield of Glycine max. L (Soya Bean) in the Northern Guinea Savanna Region of Nigeria

Abstract

This research study was conducted at the Federal College of Forestry, Jos demonstration farm to determine the efficacy of poultry droppings, cow dung, saw dust and NPK fertilizer on the growth, yield components and yield of Glycine max. L. (Soya Bean). Randomised complete block design (RCBD) was used with five treatments replicated four times. Growth and yield characteristics were recorded on plant height, number of leaves, stem girth, number of branches, leaf area, days to 50% flowering, number of pods/plant, number of seeds/pod, 1000 seeds weight, yield and biomass weight. The data collected was analysed using SPSS 25 and where significance was declared, Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was carried out to separate the means. The result shows that there was significant difference at the application of the treatments. poultry droppings differed significantly as it gave the highest plant height (54.78 cm), number of leaves (50.40), number of branches (3.80), leaf area (143.80 cm2), stem girth (3.26 cm), number of pods/plant (95.00), number of seeds/pod (2.62), 1000 seeds weight (420.80 g), yield (24.84 tons/ha) and biomass (15.66 tons/ha). The least number of days it takes for 50% of the seeds to flowering was also recorded on the application of poultry manure. It can be concluded that the application of poultry droppings gave the highest growth and yield characteristics of soya bean in the study area. Thus, soya bean farmers are encourage to apply poultry droppings for better growth and yield.