Abstract:
The field experiment was conducted to investigate the yield
performance of vegetable cowpea with animal manure application at
Kaluwanchikudy area. The Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD)
was used for this experiment. Poultry manure, cattle manure and goat
manure were evaluated with and without agriculture department
recommended level of inorganic fertilizer for vegetable cowpea. The highest
crop yield was obtained by the application of poultry manure combined with
the recommended inorganic fertilizer. The lowest yield was obtained by the
application of goat manure only. In addition the results revealed that goat
manure and cattle manure were inferior to poultry manure as a source of
organic manure for vegetable cowpea cultivation. The animal manures
combined with chemical fertilizer gave a higher yield than treatment which
was applied only animal manure. The soil analysis after each crop showed
that the nitrogen content and phosphorus content of poultry manure treated
plots were higher than other treatments. But potassium content was higher
in goat manure treated plots. The results further revealed that poultry
manure has a beneficial effect on crop growth and yield compared with other
treatments. Therefore, the combined use of poultry manure with inorganic
fertilizer application (DOA recommendation) has been recognized as the
most suitable way of ensuring high crop yield.
