Comparative study of the influence of water hyacinth – based liquid organic fertilizer, poultry droppings and inorganic fertilizer on the cultivation of Zea mays on loamy and white sandy soils

Abstract

The influence of water hyacinth-based liquid fertilizer and two soil amendment materials on the growth and yield of Zea mays were comparatively investigated. White sandy and loamy soils and Water hyacinth were collected respectively from Igbokoda and Obaile and Alape River in Ondo State, Nigeria.  The liquid organic fertilizer developed by wet fermentation method, poultry droppings and NPK fertilizer were then applied as soil amendment materials to Zea mays planted in 20 litre soil- filled perforated buckets and then monitored monthly for three months. Sample analyses by standard physical and chemical analytical techniques revealed a pH of 6.78 and 7.27 and heavy metal concentration in the range of 0.00 -187.56 (mg/kg) and 0.06 – 293.16 (mg/kg) for the loamy and white sandy soil respectively. The Water hyacinth plant parts also differ in their proximate composition with the leaf having highest value of moisture (65.45%), protein (12.18%) and carbohydrate (5.30%). The study also revealed highest values of ash (18.48%), fat (3.84%) and crude fibre (12.50%) in the plant root relative to leaf and stem. The present study revealed that the application of water hyacinth- based liquid fertilizer, poultry droppings and the inorganic fertilizer had significant influence on the growth parameters and yield of maize on both soil types relative to the unamended control, but the growth responses and the number of ear maize produced vary with treatments, growth period and soil types. The number of ear maize at the end of the planting season were 2, 2, 4 and 2 for white sandy soil and 1, 3, 8 and 7 for loamy soil respectively for the un-milled biofertilizer, milled biofertilizer, poultry dropping and NPK treated soils. This study revealed that water hyacinth – based biofertilizer has the potential to improve the quality and integrity of soil for improved Zea mays production.