Effect of organic manure on growth and proximate composition of Treculia africana var. deene seedlings

Abstract

A study on the effect of organic manure on seedling growth and proximate composition of T. africana seedlings was conducted to influence the growth and improve the nutritive quality of the plant as an alternative source of feed for dry season feeding. Three months old seedlings of T. africana were transplanted on the field containing samples of organic manure (poultry and cow dung) mix with top soil in a ratio of one kilogram of soil to 25 g of manure and a control (without manure) in a Randomized Complete Block Design which was replicated thrice. The seedlings were assessed for plant height, number of foliage, collar diameter and number of branches. Samples of the seedlings foliage were collected across the treatments and analyzed for proximate composition after the eighth week of transplanting. Seedlings under cow dung application recorded a significantly (P>0.05) higher values for number o foliage per plant (21.82), plant height (66.58 cm), collar diameter (12.96 mm) and number of branches (4.20) at 8 weeks after planting (WAP), followed by seedlings to which poultry manure was applied and lastly by the control. Proximate composition showed that the dry matter (DM) content values of the samples were high which ranged from 894.60- 896.30 g/ kg DM (p<0.05). The crude protein (CP) content followed the same trend as the DM with its values ranging between 143.6 and 149.30 g/kg DM (p<0.05) and the ether extract (EE) values ranging between 22.20 and 23.50 g/kg DM (p<U.05) for the samples collected respectively. The ash content did not vary significantly between the different manure and the control. The Crude fibre was quite significantly (p<0.05) low in the samples ranging from 162.10 and 166.70 g/kg DM. This study showed that cow dung is the most suitable manure for T. Africana seedlings in terms of mineralization and it is relatively fast when compared with poultry manure, and the application of poultry manure has also it has positively influence the growth and development of T. Africana seedlings while poultry manure increased the digestible fraction (i.e crude protein) of the plant.