Effect of Organic Manures on Growth and Yield of Cowpea in Chitwan, Nepal

Abstract

The experiment was carried out at the field of Nepal Polytechnic Institute (NPI), Bharatpur, Chitwan. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of different sources of organic manure in the growth and yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L) and the chemical properties of soil. The experiment was laid out by using 5 treatments and four replications in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). There was a total of 20 plots each of 2 x 2 m2. The variety used was Malepatan-1. Poultry manure, goat manure, Farmyard Manure (FYM), mustard cake, and RDF, were tested as treatments. The soil of the experimental plot was acidic (pH 6.1) containing low total nitrogen (0.7), low available potassium (90.32), low available phosphorous (13.99), and medium organic manure (2.9). The data on vegetative parameters (plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant), yield attributing parameters (number of flowers per plant, number of pods per branches, and yield), and soil chemical properties (total nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, pH and organic matter) were taken and entered in Ms-Excel which were then subjected of analysis of variance using Genstat and means were separated using DMRT. Out of 5 treatments treatment poultry (2.620kg/plot) was superior and significantly increased plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, number of pods, and yield. While mustard oil cake was ineffective to give optimum yield and yield attributing characters. The highest yield was obtained from treatment poultry manure i.e. (8.438 ton/ha) while the lowest yield was obtained from the treatment mustard oil cake (2.906 ton/ha).