Effects of Liquid Manure on Growth and Yield of Spinach (<em>Beta vulgaris</em> Var Cicla) in a Sub-tropical Environment in Swaziland

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the effects of liquid manure on growth, development and yield of spinach. A randomized complete block design experiment was conducted in pots, in a 50% semi shaded lath house. The four treatments were solid kraal manure applied at 40 t/ha; liquid manure applied at 40 m 3 /ha; liquid manures solid remains applied at 40 t/ha and control of inorganic chemical fertilizer applied at 150 kg/ha. There were four replications per treatment. The growth parameters that were measured included the average number of leaf development per week, leaf height, leaf width, leaf area, leaf area index and the fresh biomass. For the growth parameters measured the results showed that the highest values were obtained in spinach plants fertilized with inorganic fertilizer followed in decreasing order by those fertilized with solid kraal manure, liquid manure solid remains and lastly liquid manure. The spinach fresh biomass mean yield for the treatment of inorganic chemical fertilizers was the highest at 54.4 g per plant. The lowest spinach yield of 17.9 g per plant was obtained from liquid manure treatment. The spinach yield from inorganic fertilized plants was significantly (p≤0.05) different from that of liquid manure and liquid manure solid remains. However, the yield from solid kraal manure treatment and inorganic chemical fertilizers was not significantly different, implying that kraal manure could be used to produce a high yield of the vegetable at a lower cost compared to inorganic fertilizer. Therefore it is recommended that farmers should continue to use solid kraal manure since the yields produced were similar to that of chemical fertilizers.

The Effects of Chicken Manure Application Rates on Growth and Yield of Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.)

“…Increased vegetable yield with the use of manure has been previously reported for okra [10]. The benefits of organic fertilizer use in vegetable production have previously been reported [11,12,13] and very recently reported [14,15,16] in the Kingdom of Eswatini.…”

Studies on the Effect of Biostimulant Products (Egg Amionacid and Panchagavya) on Soil Nutrients and Crop Yield of Greens

“…Therefore, it is necessary to use bio products like panchagavya and egg amino acid for the production of chemical residue free food crops particularly the vegetables as they have been consumed raw as salad etc. Wide range of biostimulants is available in market as well as produced by the farmers on farm and applied to the crops in liquid formulation to boost the crop growth and yield (Msibi et al,2013). They have been used as growth promoters and nutrients supplements in organic farming to boost crop production.…”

Factores de interacción microbio-sustrato y gas-microbio en relación con la digestión anaeróbica del estiércol líquido y la productividad del cultivo

“…As significant basis for plant nutrition, liquid manure (LM) essentially adds organic matter to the soil. By so doing, it improves tilth, soil structure and amendments, cation exchange ability, plant growth and productivity, infiltration of water, and organic carbon content of the soil (that gives energy to soil microbes); prevents pest and disease attack; benefits socio-economically; and reduces runoff by acting as a mulch (BEL, 2005;Gajjela et al, 2018;Halder et al, 2018;Hoorman et al, 2009;Mahanta & Dhar, 2021;Maity et al, 2020;Msibi et al, 2014;Onduru et al, 1999;Supriya & Harish, 2019). LM are therefore, organic fertilizers formed by mixing and dissolving factory waste, crop residues, urine, green manures, sawdust, market waste, animal dung, household/kitchen waste, mushroom waste, agro-industrial wastes and farm residues, among othersby way of fermenting and/or decomposing them (Ansar et al, 2021;Elaiyaraju & Partha, 2016;Rana, n.d.;Supriya & Harish, 2019).…”

“…LM are therefore, organic fertilizers formed by mixing and dissolving factory waste, crop residues, urine, green manures, sawdust, market waste, animal dung, household/kitchen waste, mushroom waste, agro-industrial wastes and farm residues, among othersby way of fermenting and/or decomposing them (Ansar et al, 2021;Elaiyaraju & Partha, 2016;Rana, n.d.;Supriya & Harish, 2019). In various farmlands, the efficiency of LM in growing certain types of crops compared to chemical fertilizers, has been studied with near 100% success by many researchers (Alamene & Howells, 2022;Antoneli et al, 2019;Arunkumar et al, 2021;Byeon et al, 2021;Choi et al, 2017;Gajjela et al, 2018;Msibi et al, 2014). In whatever form (solid, semi-solid or liquid form), manures have the potential of polluting water bodies and the surrounding air, by causing GHG emissions, ground water pollution, leaching of pollutants, soil salinization and eutrophication of surface water (Ahlberg-Eliasson et al, 2021;Antoneli et al, 2019;Camilleri-Rumbau et al, 2021).…”