NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION AND UPTAKE IN CELOSIA (Celosia argentea L.) AS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ORGANIC MANURE (POULTRY MANURE) AND HARVEST INTERVALS

ABSTRACT

Field experiment was conducted during the raining season of March to June 2017 at the experimental farm and analytical laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, to determine the effect of different rates of poultry manure application and cutting intervals on the nutrient concentration and uptake in Celosia. The experiment was a 3 x 3 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with nine treatments in three replications. The treatments were composed of 0, 10 and 20 t/ha of poultry manure and three harvest intervals which include the control (C1), cutting once before uprooting (C2) and cutting twice before uprooting (C3). The result showed a significant increase in nutrient concentration and uptake of elements as manure application rates increased from 0 to 20 t/ha for all the nutrients sampled. Similarly, the effect of cutting interval was also significant, C2 produced the highest nutrient concentration for all the elements sampled except for Ca and Fe. Nutrient uptake for N (42.31%) was highest at C2 compared to C3 (2.66%) and C1 (22.29%). While P (9.48%),  K (41.13%), Ca (34.33 mg/g), Mg (19.07 mg/g), Na (4.98 mg/g) and Fe (1302 mg/g) were higher at C3 compared with C1 and C2. The highest yield was obtained at C2 (15.11 t/ha) compared to C3 (12.35 t/ha) and C1 (5.28 t/ha).