Seedling growth of Jatropha curcas L. at various levels of fertilizers in Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers (cow dung and NPK 15:15:15) at different proportions on the early shoot growth of Jatropha curcas L. The fertilizers were applied with two weeks interval after transplanting from germination beds. Another set of seedlings were planted without fertilizer treatment, which served as the control. Growth parameters assessed for 10 weeks include shoot height, collar diameter and number of leaves. The growth parameters of J. curcas seedlings were significantly different among the fertilizer treatments at 5% probability level. The best growth of seedling was observed on the treatment of 100 g of NPK (15:15:15) + 10 g of cow dung with the mean values of 31.83 cm for seedling height, 1.5 cm for collar diameter and 12 leaves. The results indicated that the increase of NPK fertilizer with organic fertilizer (cow dung) enhanced the growth and yield of J. curcas. A long-term fertilizer trial study under different agro-ecological regions is suggested because intended end use of J. curcas can be also economically viable and sustainably achieved with the use of fertilizers during plantation establishment. © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.