GROWTH, FLOWERING AND FRUITING PERFORMANCE OF COFFEE (COFFEA ROBUSTA) AS INFLUENCED BY ORGANIC-BASED FORTIFIED FOLIAR FERTILIZER

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effect of Greenshield Organic-Based Fortified Foliar Fertilizer on the growth, flowering and fruiting performance of Coffea robusta. The experiment was laid out using Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), having six treatments and three replications. The treatments were: T1 – Untreated check (No fertilizer); T2 – RR of NPK fertilizer/ha; T3 – ½ RR NPK/ha; T4 – Greenshield Organic – Based Fortified Foliar Fertilizer at 100ml/li of water; T5 – ½ RR NPK + GOFF; and T6 – RR of NPK + GOFF. The result of the study revealed that different rates of Greenshield Organic – Based Fortified Foliar Fertilizer significantly affected the number of flowers and number of fruits, but not stem diameter. Results showed that the number of flowers at 30 Days after application was increased by T6 – RR of NPK + GOFF up to 36% higher than without applications. It also had the highest number of fruits in two weeks from flowering as much as 100% more fruits than GOFF alone and untreated. While no significant increase in terms of stem diameter was observed which ranged from 75 to 90 cm at 30 days after application.