Agronomy

A POST FIELD SEMINAR SUBMITTED IN PATIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN AGRONOMY(M.Sc. Agronomy) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, ILORIN, NIGERIA.

Justification of Study

The application of inorganic fertilizers results in yield increase of this crop. Unfortunately, inorganic fertilizers reduce the quality of arable lands. The Economic Commission for Africa (2001) reported that tropical soils are adversely affected by suboptimal soil fertility and erosion, causing a deterioration of the nutrient status and changes in soil organism populations. Animal and farmyard manure have been used to improve and supplement soil nutrients from time immemorial. However, the advent of inorganic fertilizer has almost eliminated the use of these manures by farmers as sources of plant nutrients and soil amendment because of its relative ease of application and quick results. A lot of organic manures lie waste in rural areas in Nigeria and even in developing urban centres and mega-cities like Lagos and Ibadan. They are usually dumped around farmsteads. Some of these organic wastes are burnt periodically while others are just dumped on the ground surface, increasing the problem of environmental pollution and constituting health hazards. Hence, there is a need to look for ways of combining the advantages of both organic and inorganic fertilizers1.3 Objectives of the study The objectives of this study is to determine the effect of different combination of NPK fertilizer and organic manure on the growth and yield on okraSelect the best combination that give the best yield