Salinity Effect of Animal Manure on Leafy Vegetable Yield

Abstract

Crop produce maximum yield at optimum fertiliser level. Excess nutrient in soil limits germination, growth and yield. Efficient use of manure requires persistent development to enable recommendation for its safe application rate. To this end, this research evaluated the effect of salinity from different application rates of manure on yield of vegetables. Green house and laboratory assays were used for vegetable growth and the determination of electrical conductivity (EC), respectively. Salinity effect on plant growth occurred to be a function of manure type. Optimum salinity level of poultry manure ranged from 15.6 to 21.8 mS m^–1 EC. For goat manure, optimum EC ranged from 29.1 to 59.2 mS m^–1. For cattle manure, EC was about 42.3 mS m^–1 but for Chinese cabbage, the highest biomass was obtained at the highest EC of 47.4 mS m^–1. Salinity differed considerably among manures.