Effect of pig manure on growth and productivity of twenty accessions of Moringa oleifera in Nigeria

Abstract

An experiment to determine the effect of pig waste on the survival, growth and productivity of 20 accessions of Moringa oleifera from the various agroecologies in Nigeria was conducted from August 2011 to November 2012. The experiment was a factorial combination of 3 rates of pig waste – 0, 10 and 20 t/ha – and 20 accessions of Moringa oleifera . Analysis of variance results indicated a general decline in survival percentage of the accessions with time with the Kolo accession showing the highest survival percentage of 84.4% 15 months after transplanting, while Baruten recorded the lowest survival rate (37.8%). There were significant variations across accessions in all the morphological and pod and seed parameters evaluated. The accession from Kolo showed the tallest plants and the widest stem girth while Ugya produced more leaves at the last measurement. Kolo, Ugya, Idere and Awo - Garaji had comparatively higher dry weights than other accessions. There was a linear response to pig waste application although the 0 and 10 t/ha rates were statistically the same. Variation in the pattern of response of reproductive parameters to organic manure was noticed with Baruten and Zaria not producing viable pods at manure rate of 10 t/ha while Idere and Maiduguri failed to bear pods at rates of 20 t/ha. Accessional differences in survival and growth can be exploited for selection and breeding purposes while organic manure can be utilized to improve growth and yield of the species. Keywords: accessions, Moringa oleifera , pig waste, growth, productivity