Influence of Organo-Mineral Fertilizer on Growth and Yield of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus).

Abelmoschus  esculentus is an important annual crop that originated from West Africa and it is one of the widely cultivated vegetables in the tropics. A field experiment was conducted at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria to evaluate the influence of varying rates of organo-mineral fertilizer- OMF (produced from composted sawdust and poultry manure, fortified with chemical fertilizer) on the growth and yield of Okra. Fifteen plots were used and five treatments were applied at the rate of 0 ton/ha OMF (control), 2.5 ton/ha OMF, 5.0 ton/ha OMF, 7.5 ton/ha OMF and the conventional NPK 16-16-16 at 200kg/ha. Each treatment had three replicates in a complete randomized design. Growth parameters monitored include plant height, number of leaves, leaf canopy spread and stem girth at weekly intervals starting from the third week after planting while number of pods and pod weight were the yield parameters observed. Results obtained at P ≤ 0.05 significant level showed that treatment application increase both growth and yield parameters of Okra when compared to the control. However, plots with 7.5 ton/ha OMF treatment had the best result in terms of the growth and yield parameters monitored.

Keywords: Okra, OMF, yield, compost, fertilizer, sawdust