Effects of Crop Bio-life on Growth and Yield of Wild Okra (Corchorus olitorious L.) in a Sub-tropical Environment

Abstract

Crop bio-life is used as a foliar spray to enhance the symbiotic effect between roots and soil micro-organisms enabling the plant to better assimilate nutrients essential for growth. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of crop bio-life on growth, yield and quality of wild okra. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. The experiment consisted of four treatments. The treatments were different crop bio-life concentrations of 0, 25, 50 and 75 ppm.  The highest plant height (103.5 cm) was obtained in plants treated with 25 ppm crop bio-life and the lowest plant height (91.2 cm) was in plants treated with 75 ppm crop bio-life. Plants with the highest chlorophyll content (29.08 µmol per m2) were those treated with 50 ppm crop bio-life while the lowest (18.6 µmol per m2) was 0 ppm treatment.  The highest wild okra yield of 22.3 g leaf wet mass was obtained in plants treated with 25 ppm crop bio-life and the lowest yield (12.9 g) obtained from plants applied with 75 ppm crop bio-life. From the results of this study, it was observed that the plants treated with 25 ppm crop bio-life grew better and had a higher yield, therefore, it is the treatment recommended to farmers.