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A collection of 35 accessions of West African Okra (Abelmoschus caillei) were evaluated for variability in 20 morphological and agronomic traits (qualitative and quantitative traits).Genotypic and phenotypic variances, genotypic (GCV) and phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV), heritability, genetic advance of the characters were calculated. The accessions demonstrated wide variability for all characters evaluated. Variation was expressed in all qualitative traits studies except in leaf and petal colour. Phenotypic variances were generally higher than their respective genotypic variances thus revealing the role of environmental factors. High PCV and High GCV were observed for pod yield per plant and peduncle length, respectively. Very low heritability estimate was observed for number of ridges per fruit (7.1%). Moderately high heritability estimate (78.99%) was observed for peduncle length; moderately high PCV and GCV 35.71% and 31.74%, respectively but low genetic advance of 1.99%.

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Crop production in most developing countries is faced with a dearth of resources for optimum production of which fertilizer is one. The use of human urine as well as its mixture with compost are potential solutions to this problem. Thus, this report investigated the influence of human urine and its combination with compost on yield and soil quality of land under green amaranths (Amaranthus caudatus). This study involved a field experiment to determine the response of green amaranths to the application of 100% urine, 2/3 urine N + 1/3 compost N, 100% compost N, NPK (15:15:15) at the rate of 100 kg N ha−1 and control with no fertilizer treatment using farmers’ participatory approach. The vegetables produced from the experimental treatments were analyzed in the laboratory for pathogenic microbial risk as well as effects of the fertilizer on nutrient status of the experimental soils (before and after planting). Perception of farmers and consumers in the study area regarding use of urine as fertilizer for vegetable production was investigated with the aid of a structured questionnaire. The result of this investigation revealed that 100% urine resulted in 58.17 t ha−1 total plant yield, while NPK 15:15:15 gave 34.34 t ha−1 total plant yield in the two plantings. Microbial analysis of edible portion of vegetable from plot fertilized with urine did not reveal any significantly different pathological contamination compared to other fertilizer treatments used in this investigation. Urine treatment improved soil nutrient exchangeable cations and acidity. The perception study revealed that respondents perceived urine to be a good agricultural input that could be used as a fertilizer in vegetable crop production and there was no strong cultural norm that would prevent them using it for crop production. Vegetable consumers would also buy vegetable crops grown with urine if they are well informed about its safety for crop production. Since the use of urine as fertilizer for crop production improved amaranth's yield and did not show any negative implication on soil environment, human urine seems to have good potential both in crop yield and acceptability by farmers and consumers.

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Article Info Received : 02.02.2017 Accepted : 22.05.2017 Acceleration of composting process could influence fertilizer-efficiency of the accelerated composts. This study therefore evaluated the nutrient release dynamics of different rates of a commercial accelerated compost (OBD-plus ) in two soils described as Alfisol and Ultisol, under laboratory incubation study, in order to generate information for simulation under field conditions. Accelerated compost (AC) at the rates of 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 kg N ha -1 , mineral fertilizer (NPK 15-15-15) and conventional compost (CC) at 60 kg N ha -1 , were each mixed with 2 mm sieved soil (Alfisol and Ultisol) in cups, and arranged in a completely randomised design with three replications. Soils without amendment served as control. The treated soils were retrieved at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks of incubation (WOI), air dried and analysed for pH, organic C, N, P and K, and data analysed using regression test. The results revealed that the 60 kg N ha -1 AC improved the pH, OC, N. P, K by -2%, 11%, 3%, 141% and 4% respectively, across the WOI, on the average of performance in the two soils, comparable with mineral fertilizer (-5%, 8%, -1%, 76%, 4% respectively) and CC (11%, 40%, 3%, 773%, 10% respectively). The 60 kg N ha -1 AC significantly correlated (p<0.05) with time of incubation only with respect to P (0.934) and gave a similar nutrient release pattern compared with mineral fertilizer and CC, in terms of C, N, P and K in both soils. It therefore showed that the accelerated compost evaluated could mineralize in a way similar to conventional compost and mineral fertilizers, despite its shorter composting duration to maturity.

Chemical fertilizers for boosting crop production are becoming more expensive and scarce. Green amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus L.) is a fast growing and highly nutritious crop, but its common use in the diet of Nigerians is constrained by its high demand for nitrogen fertilizer. Thus, there is a need to find local fertilizer materials that are readily available to peasant farmers. A preliminary field study was conducted to evaluate urine and neem (Azadirachta indica L. juss) as alternative sources for mineral fertilizers in fortifying organic fertilizer (OF) made from cow dung and market waste compost, and OF fortified with urea and bone meal [organo-mineral fertilizer (OMF)], for yield and growth of green amaranth. Fifteen treatments, based on the percentages of N supplied, were NPK15-15-15, OMF, OF, urine, neem and ten treatments of 50, 60, 70, 80 or 90% OF supplemented with a total of 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10% urine or neem, respectively, to provide a total application rate of 100 kg N ha−1, with no fertilizer treatment as a control. Planting was done in two successions (main with fertilizer treatments and residual without further application). The fertilizer sources and levels had significant effects on plant height, number of leaves, stem girth, fresh weight and dry weight. The residual effects were also significant for plant height, number of leaves, total fresh and dry weights. Forty percent N urine amendment of the OF produced the highest total fresh amaranth biomass (269.3 g plot−1 main effect and 110.8 g plot−1 residual effect), which was significantly better than the values of (140 and 35.3 g plot−1, respectively) obtained with respect to OMF during main planting and NPK during residual planting. Results of our study reveal that 40% N urine fortification of OF was a viable substitute for synthetic fertilizers in production of amaranth, and that urine and neem cake can be alternatives to mineral fertilizer for crop production.

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 shelflife 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 -1 Original Research Articletomato fruits, while NPK 15-15-15 resulted into the lowest yield (70 kg ha -1 ). Thus, human urinecompost combinations 1:2 or 2:1 nitrogen are recommended as alternatives to mineral fertilizer for tomato production, for improved yield, shelf-life and soil fertility.