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Properties of Degraded Soils Cultivated with Amaranth as Influenced by Palm Bunch Refuse Ash
Abstract
We investigated the effects of palm bunch refuse ash on soil properties and performance of amaranth (Amaranthus cruentus) in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Routine land preparations were made. Seedlings were raised and transplanted after 14 days. The experiment consisted of 5 treatments: 0t/ha, 0.5t/ha,
1.0t/ha, 1.5t/ha and 2.0t/ha of palm bunch refuse ash, which were replicated thrice and arranged in a randomized complete block design. Leaf yield data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance. Results indicate improvement in soil properties. In addition to this, there
was significant (p= 0.05) difference in leaf yield of Amaranthus cruentus resulting from varying rates of palm bunch refuse ash application. It is suggested that further studies should evaluate the effect in other soil groups of southeastern Nigeria as this study was conducted on soils developed over coastal plain sands only.
1.0t/ha, 1.5t/ha and 2.0t/ha of palm bunch refuse ash, which were replicated thrice and arranged in a randomized complete block design. Leaf yield data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance. Results indicate improvement in soil properties. In addition to this, there
was significant (p= 0.05) difference in leaf yield of Amaranthus cruentus resulting from varying rates of palm bunch refuse ash application. It is suggested that further studies should evaluate the effect in other soil groups of southeastern Nigeria as this study was conducted on soils developed over coastal plain sands only.
