Evaluation of Albizia Spp. aqueous leaf extracts on the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

Poor yield, as a result of loss of soil nutrient, is an important concerns today in agricultural production. Meanwhile, a number of synthetic and organic manure have been used over the years in a bid to enhance soil fertility, some of which were found to have deleterious effects on soil properties and environment at large. This study therefore investigated the potential of aqueous extracts from the leaves of Albizia lebbeck and Albizia zygia tree species, as liquid fertilizers for promoting the growth and yield of maize.
The aqueous extract of Albizia zygia and Albizia lebbeck were prepared from their fresh leaves. Oba super 6 hybrid maize was planted in a factorial experiment and four application rate (10%, 20%, 30% and 40%).The experiment was laid out in complete randomized design (CRD) replicated thrice. The liquid fertilizers were applied fortnightly after the first week of planting. Growth parameters including Plant Height (PH), Number of Leaves (NL), Stem Girth (SG), Leaf Area (LA), Cob length (CL), Fresh Cob weight (FCW), Dry Cob Weight (DCW) and Weight Per100grains (WPG) were measured fortnightly. Data collected were analyzed using Analysis of Variance and means separation was carried out using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% levels probability.
The result showed that value of nitrogen ranges between 0.102 - 0.132% while Phosphorus had values between 1.332- 1.432mg/kg and Potassium had 0.07- 0.079Cmol/kg after the application of the extract to the soil. Generally, application of leaf extracts of Albizia zygia and Albizia lebbeck at different concentrations as soil supplement brought about improvement in the soil fertility, evident from the growth and yield of maize. The maize plant treated with Albizia zygia leaf at 30% concentration had the highest value for the aqueous extract plant height (211.0cm), number of leaves (18) and leaf area (720.8cm). For yield parameters, Albizia zygia leaf aqueous extract at 30% concentration had the highest fresh cob weight (65.0g), dry cob weight (35.3g), seed weight (29.3g) and weight of 100 grain (26.3g). It is therefore recommended that Albizia zygia leaf aqueous extract at 30% concentration be used for Oba super 6 maize hybrid cultivation.