Effects of Poultry Manure, Kitchen Waste Compost and NPK Fertilizer on Growth and Yield of Ladies Finger

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of poultry manure, kitchen waste compost and NPK fertilizer on growth and yield of ladies finger (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench) in the crop field of the Department of Soil Science, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh during April-August, 2011. There were six treatments-control (no fertilizer/poultry manure/compost), full NPK @ 120 kg N ha-1 , 60 kg P ha-1 and 80 kg K ha-1 , full poultry manure (PM) @ 30 ton ha-1 , 50% NPK+ 50% PM, full kitchen waste compost @ 30 ton ha-1 , and 50% NPK+ 50% compost. The treatments were arranged in randomized block design with three replications. The data collected were number of leaves, plant height, fruit length, fruit circumference, number of fruits and fruit yield. The results showed that full NPK fertilizer did not increase the growth and yield of ladies finger over control. Application of poultry manure, compost and their combination with NPK fertilizers significantly influenced the growth and yield. However, the combined application of 50% NPK+50% PM showed the best ladies finger performance compared to other treatments in the valley soils of Chittagong.