RESPONSES OF MORINGA (Moringa oleifera LAM.) LEAF EXTRACT AND POULTRY MANURE TO THE YIELD PARAMETERS OF SWEET MAIZE

The declining yields of vegetable crops on continuously cultivated fields in Nigeria has necessitated the need to evolve sustainable means of maintaining soil fertility. The traditionally prescribed inorganic fertilizers are increasingly associated with environmental degradation, health problems and escalating costs due to the unstable foreign exchange rates.The study evaluated the responses of Moringa leaf extract (MLE) and poultry manure (PM) on the yield parameters of sweet maize. Eleven treatment applications (0, 5%MLE, 7.5% MLE, 10% MLE, 5% MLE + 15 tha-1 PM, 7.5% MLE + 15 tha-1 PM, 10% MLE + 15 tha-1 PM, 15tha-1 PM, 20 tha-1 PM, 25 tha-1 PM and 30 tha-1 PM) were fitted into a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Data on yield parameters such as number of days to 50% tasseling, number of days to 50% silking, weight of cobs, number of seeds per cob and grain yield were collected for analysis .The results of the study showed that there were significant differences (p=0.05) among the treatments as plots that received 30 tha-1 of PM increased in number of seeds per cob to 545 and 491.7; followed by a combination of 10% MLE + 15 tha-1 PM with 512.2 and 467.0 in the early and late seasons respectively. Similarly, 30 tha-1 of PM increased grain yield to 3.21 tha-1 and 1.90 tha-1 followed by a mixture of 10% MLE + 15 tha-1 PM with 2.66 tha-1 and 1.61 tha-1 in the early and late seasons respectively. The implication is that 30 tha-1 of poultry manure (PM) could be used alone for better economic yield of sweet maize in the early season of the study environment and is hereby recommended to farmers through extension workers.