EVALUATION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF SWEET POTATO (Ipomea Batatas) VARIETIES IN A SANDY-LOAM SOIL

Abstract

Poor Soil fertility has severed quality yields in tuber crops like sweet potato in Bichi and its environs. Field trial was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Agricultural Education Department to evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield sweet potato varieties during the 2022 rainy season. The treatments comprised three sweet potato varieties (Dan-china, PIAPIA and 87/OP/195) and four levels of organic and inorganic fertilizer along with the control (0 level, 200kg/ha NPK 15:15:15, 60tons/ha cow-dung and a mixture of 30tons/ha cow-dung and 100kg/ha NPK). The treatments were arranged in a randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Data was collected on the length of primary vine, number of secondary vines, number of leaves and tuber yield per plant. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data. Result of the study showed that 87/OP/195 recorded the longest length of primary vine with lower leaf number compared to the control but with the highest tuber yield (2.6kg/plant) when 30kg/ha of NPK 15:15:15 and 30tons/ha of cow-dung under sandy Loam textural class. Similarly, PIAPIA and Dan-China treated with the mixture of NPK 15:15:15 and Cow-dung also produced the second and third higher yields (2.5kg and 1.6kg/plant respectively) even though under an acidic soil condition. The research recommended 87/OP/195 and PIAPIA with even lower rates of organic fertilizer without necessarily adding NPK or Urea but with improved management practices.