Direct and residual effect of plantain peel based compost on soil chemical properties, growth and yield of Celosia Argentea

Abstract

Plantain peels are rich in plant essential nutrients, therefore, if used as soil amendment, could improve the yield of crops. Field  experiments were carried out in 2014 and 2015 planting seasons to evaluate the direct and residual effects of compost derived from plantain peel and poultry manure on the chemical properties of soil, growth and yield of Celosia argentea. Treatments used were compost prepared from poultry manure and ripe plantain peel composts at ratio 1:3, applied at the rate of 10, 20, 30 tha^-1 and control. Parameters evaluated were the chemical properties of post - harvest soil, height, number of leaves, stem girth and fresh yield of Celosia argentea. It was observed that in the first year of the experiment (2014), compost applied at the rate of 30 t ha^-1 significantly increased the total N (0.65 g kg^-1), available P (16.06 mg kg^-1), K (0.36 cmol kg^-1), Ca (0.20 cmol kg^-1), Mg (0.21 cmol kg^-1), exchangeable acidity (1.35 cmol kg^-1), organic carbon (19.3 g kg-1) of post - harvest soil and the fresh yield of Celosia(17.04 t ha^-1)above the control. A similar observation was made in 2015 where compost at 30 t ha-1significantly increased the Mg (1.21 cmol kg^-1), organic carbon (37.6 g kg^-1), N (0.47 g kg^-1), P (36.73 mg kg^-1) of post - harvest soil while exchangeable acidity (0.06 cmol kg^-1) was significantly reduced over the control by the above treatment. The same compost treatment significantly increased the fresh yield (15.61 t ha^-1) and height (65.03 cm) of Celosia argentea. Celosia argenteacould be planted twice on the same soil with the application of 30 tha^-1 plantain peel- based compost for improved soil chemical properties and higher yield.

Key words: Plantain peel, Poultry manure, Direct effect, Residual effect, Celosia argentea