The Effects of Refuse Dump Compost and Poultry Manure on the Growth and Yield of Amaranthus Hybridus L.
ABSTRACT
A screen house experiment was conducted in the Botanical Garden of Plant Science and Biotechnology Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka to assess the effects of refuse dump compost and poultry manure on the growth and yield of Amaranthus hybridus.
The accumulation of heavy metals (Hg, Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Cr) in the leaves, stems, roots and seeds of A. hybridus at the end of the experiment were also assessed.
The treatment comprised Treatment A (garden soil and river sand in the ratio of 3:1 as control); Treatment B (garden soil, refuse dump compost and river sand in the ratio of 3:2:1); and Treatment C (garden soil, poultry manure and river sand in the ratio of 3:2:1).
The treatments were replicated nine times in a completely randomized design with five experimental units. A. hybridus was raised in a nursery and transplanted at 3 weeks after planting.
The resulting data was subjected to ANOVA and means separated using DNMRT at P ≤ 0.05.
The results of the study showed that application of Treatment C produced the highest mean plant height (88.00±5.13 cm), number of leaves (55.80±2.62), leaf area (140.89±6.92 cm2 ),
Fresh weight of leaves, stems, roots and seeds (52.47±1.42 g, 41.57±2.10 g, 10.19±0.41 g and 0.24±0.10 g respectively); and dry weight of leaves, stems, roots and seeds (5.36±2.21 g, 3.96±1.63 g, 1.78±0.74 g and 0.19±0.08 g respectively).
Treatment B performed better than Treatment A, indicating some improvements in the soil fertility with the application of refuse dump compost.
The concentrations of cadmium (0.263±0.019 mg/kg in the leaves and 0.300±0.010 mg/kg in the stems) and lead (2.833±0.708 mg/kg in the leaves and 0.380±0.111 mg/kg in the stems) in Treatment B were above the FAO/WHO limits for heavy metals in vegetables (0.20 mg/kg for cadmium and 0.30 mg/kg for lead).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover page————————————————————————————————- i
Title page————————————————————————————————– ii
Certification page————————————————————————————— iii
Dedication———————————————————————————————– iv
Acknowledgement—————————————————————————————- v
Abstract————————————————————————————————– vii
List of plates——————————————————————————————- viii
List of tables——————————————————————————————– ix
Table of contents————————————————————————————— xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study————————————————————————- 1
1.1.1 Morphology and taxonomy of Amaranthus hybridus L.—————————- 1
1.1.1.1 Scientific classification——————————————————– 1
1.1.1.2 Plant description—————————————————————- 2
1.1.2 Cultivation of Amaranthus hybridus—————————————————- 3
1.1.3 Some uses of Amaranthus hybridus—————————————————- 3
1.2 Problem Statement——————————————————————————– 4
1.3 Justifications for the study———————————————————————– 6
1.4 Aim and objectives of the study—————————————————————- 7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Refuse dump compost—————————————————————————– 8
2.2 Poultry manure———————————————————————————- 11
2.3 Amaranthus hybridus L.————————————————————————- 13
2.4 Heavy metals in vegetables——————————————————————— 14
2.4.1 The effects of some heavy metals on humans—————————————- 16
CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Collection and preparation of materials——————————————————- 18
3.2 Nursery bed preparation————————————————————————- 19
3.3 Experimental design—————————————————————————- 19
3.4 Refuse dump compost and poultry manure analyses—————————————– 20
3.4.1 Physico-chemical analysis of media————————————————— 21
3.4.1.1 Total nitrogen—————————————————————– 21
3.4.1.2 Available phosphorous——————————————————- 21
3.4.1.3 Exchangeable bases (K, Na, Mg, and Ca)——————————— 22
3.4.1.3.1 Calcium———————————————————– 22
3.4.1.3.2 Magnesium——————————————————- 22
3.4.1.3.3 Sodium and potassium——————————————- 23
3.4.1.4 Total organic carbon———————————————————- 23
3.4.1.5 pH——————————————————————————- 24
3.4.1.6 Moisture content————————————————————— 24
3.4.2 Heavy metals analysis of media——————————————————- 24
3.4.2.1 Mercury———————————————————————– 25
3.4.2.2 Copper————————————————————————– 25
3.4.2.3 Cadmium———————————————————————– 25
3.4.2.4 Zinc—————————————————————————– 26
3.4.2.5 Lead————————————————————————- 26
3.4.2.6 Chromium——————————————————————– 26
3.4.2.7 Iron—————————————————————————- 26
3.5 Transplanting——————————————————————————— 27
3.6 Data collection——————————————————————————— 27
3.6.1 Plant height—————————————————————————— 28
3.6.2 Leaf area——————————————————————————- 28
3.6.3 Number of leaves——————————————————————– 28
3.6.4 Fresh weight————————————————————————– 28
3.6.5 Dry weight—————————————————————————- 28
3.7 Analysis of heavy metals in various plant parts———————————————- 28
3.8 Statistical analysis——————————————————————————– 29
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
4.1 Refuse dump compost and poultry manure analysis—————————————- 30
4.2 Growth and yield parameters—————————————————————– 32
4.2.1 Plant height—————————————————————————— 32
4.2.2 Number of leaves———————————————————————– 34
4.2.3 Leaf area———————————————————————————- 36
4.2.4 Fresh weight of leaves—————————————————————— 38
4.2.5 Fresh weight of stems—————————————————————— 38
4.2.6 Fresh weight of roots——————————————————————- 38
4.2.7 Dry weight of leaves—————————————————————— 44
4.2.8 Dry weight of stems——————————————————————– 44
4.2.9 Dry weight of roots——————————————————————— 44
4.2.10 Fresh and dry weight of seeds——————————————————- 49
4.3 Heavy metals analysis———————————————————————— 51
4.3.1 Concentrations of heavy metals in the leaves of A. hybridus——————– 51
4.3.2 Concentrations of heavy metals in the stems of A. hybridus——————— 51
4.3.3 Concentrations of heavy metals in the roots of A. hybridus———————- 52
4.3.4 Concentrations of heavy metals in the seeds of A. hybridus———————- 52
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION————————————————————– 62
CONCLUSION—————————————————————————— 68
REFERENCES————————————————————————————– 70
INTRODUCTION
In Nigeria, as in most other tropical countries of Africa where the daily diet is predominated by starchy staple foods, vegetables are the cheapest and most readily available sources of important proteins, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids (Akubugwo et al., 2007).
Since about 1980, Amaranthus spp. have been rediscovered as a promising food crop mainly due to its resistance to heat, drought, diseases and pests, and the high nutritional value of both the seeds and leaves (Wu et al., 2000).
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StudentsandScholarship Team.
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