Effect of Agro- organic wastes and NPK Fertilizer on Upland Rice Performance in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Greener Journal of Agricultural Sciences

Vol. 9(1), pp. 102-109, 2019

ISSN: 2276-7770

DOI Link: http://doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2019.1.030919045

http://gjournals.org/GJAS

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Effect of Agro- organic wastes and NPK Fertilizer on Upland Rice Performance in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Orluchukwu, J.A.;Emem, Alban;Omovbude, S.

Department of Crop and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt,

P. M. B. 5323, Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

ARTICLE INFO	ABSTRACT
*Article No.:* 030919045 *Type: Research* *DOI:* 10.15580/GJAS.2019.1.030919045	Field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of agro organic wastes against NPK fertilizer on upland rice performance in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Port Harcourt. The experiment consisted of five (5) treatments namely: 0 (control), 300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer, 10 t/ha poultry manure (poultry droppings), 10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate, 5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four (4) replications. The study showed that there were no significant differences among the treatments on growth attributes (plant height and leaf area), yield and yield components (number of tillers, fresh weight of tillers, dry weight of tillers, dry weight of panicle, 1000 dry weight of grains and grain yield) although 5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate tended to produce higher growth attributes, yield and yield components compared to other treatments. The control (where no treatment was added) gave the lowest growth attributes, yield and yield components. Therefore, the combination of 5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate is recommendable to upland rice farmers in the area of study since they complement each other and served as a better alternative to NPK (15: 15: 15) fertilizer, which is scarce and expensive.
*Submitted:* 09/03/2019 *Accepted:* 12/03/2019 *Published:* 30/03/2019
Corresponding Author Dr.* Omovbude, S. *E-mail:* sundayomovbude@ yahoo.com *Phone:* +2348053186814
*Keywords: Agro- organic wastes, NPK fertilizer, upland Rice, performance*

INTRODUCTION

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) belongs to the family Poaceae and is one of the most consumed staples in Nigeria (PwC, 2018). More than 90 per cent of total rice is cultivated in South and East Asia, having China and India as the leading producers (Remison, 2005). Globally, Nigeria is the highest importer of rice and the largest producer in West Africa (Anon, 2019). Generally, mass importation of rice from Asian countries is high in African countries because Africa countries account for 2 per cent of production (Remison, 2005). There are two main types of rice cultivation viz: upland and swamp rice. Upland rice is planted in soils without irrigation or flooding. It depends solely on seasonal rainfall while swamp rice is cultivated in places which are naturally flooded by rain water or in areas artificially flooded by irrigation.

In West Africa, upland rice accounts for 75 per cent of rice cultivation (Remison, 2005) while in Nigeria it accounts for about 30-35 per cent of total rice production and swamp rice accounts for about 25 per cent (Singh et al., 1997; Idiong, 2006) . Upland is cultivated in all parts of the states in Nigeria but predominantly in Abia, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Imo, Kaduna, Kastina, Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Osun, Sokoto, Plateau, Yobe, Zamfara, Taraba and FCT (Rapu, 2016). Although yield per hectare is low in this system; however, Southern states tend to have a more encouraging yield than northern states probably because of higher rainfalls (Fakayode, 2009).

Upland production is common among Nigerian farmers because of unlimited land areas and less difficulty in cultivation when compared to low land rice. In the upland environment, rice cultivation is faced by many problems such as: drought, low adoption of improved varieties, soil acidity and general soil infertility, poor weed control, limited capital investments, and labour shortages, and low mechanization; yields range from 1.0 to 1.7 t/ha compared with a potential of 2.0–4.0 t/ha (Anon, 2019). Among these problems, general soil infertility is of uppermost importance. The average rice farm holding in Nigeria is between 1 to 2 hectares (Akpokodje et al., 2001).

In addressing the problem of soil infertility, farmers tend to use chemicals fertilizers. However, fertilizers at most times are not available and are expensive for poor farmers to buy. Even when occasionally available, improper application for continuous crop production can lead to environmental pollution, soil degradation and consequently lower crop yields. Due to the shortcomings of inorganic manure, the need to investigate alternative sources of maintaining soil fertility such as organic manure comes into focus. Organic manure mainly comes from crop residues and animal by-products like meat, bone meal, blood meal, fecal materials, etc. They contain specifically high levels of nutrients (e.g. N, P K). They have high organic matter contents and a variety of micronutrients (Busari and Salako).

The recent increase in demand for cereals (rice in particular) has become a source of worry to people both locally and internationally. The problem stems from the fact that the world’s population is increasing astronomically, which has put more pressure on the consumption of rice and its use as raw materials in industries. The urgent need to increase rice production in Nigeria and to expand the scope of rice production in the midst of inadequate and high cost of chemical fertilizer necessitated this study. Hence, the objective of this current study was to determine the effect of agro organic manure wastes and NPK fertilizer on the yield of upland rice in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of the Site

The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Choba, Rivers State, Nigeria during the early cropping season of 2017. The experimental site is located at latitude 04° 54 ́ 538’N and longitude 006° 55 ́ 329’E with an elevation of 17m above sea level. It has an average temperature of 27^oC, relative humidity of 78% and an average rainfall that ranges from 2500-4000mm (Nwankwo and Ehirim 2010). It is characterized by tropical wet (March to October) and dry (November-February) seasons.

The experimental site was dominated by weed species such as: Ageratum conyzoides Linn., Aspilia africana (Pers.) C.D. Adams, Chromoleana odorata (L.) R.M. King & Robinson, Cleome rutidosperma DC., Commelina diffusa Burm. F., Cyperus esculentus Linn. Cyperus rotundus Linn. Euphorbia heterphylla Linn., Kyllinga erecta Schumach, Mariscus alternifolius Vahl., Mitracapus villosus (Sw.) DC. Oldenlandia corymbosa Linn., Panicum maximum Jacq., Phyllanthus niruri var. amarus (Schumach. & Thonn.) Learndri, and Sida cordifolia Linn. The soil was under continuous cultivation with crops such as cassava, sweet potatoes, fluted pumpkin and maize for five years. The soil is acidic and belongs to the order known as Ultisol. Ultisol usually has low pH and low nutrients (Brady & Weil, 2008).

Source of materials

NPK (15 – 15- 15) fertilizer was bought from the agrochemical distributors and poultry manure (poultry droppings) from a small scale poultry farmer at Choba, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Spent mushroom substrate was obtained from the University of Port Harcourt mushroom unit. The rice variety, Faro 52 was bought from International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State.

Soil and agro organic wastes (poultry manure and spent mushroom) analysis

Soil Analysis

Soil samples were taken diagonally at a uniform depth of 0 - 15 cm from 15 points on the experimental site using a soil auger of 10 cm diameter. The soil samples were bulked, air dried and a representative sample was taken after processing for laboratory analysis. Particle-size analysis was determined by hydrometer method (Sheldrick and Hand Wang, 1993) and soil pH in a (1: 2) soil: water ratio suspension using a digital electronic pH meter. Soil organic carbon was by the Walkley and Black procedure by wet oxidation using chromic acid digestion (Nelson and Sommers 1996). Total N was determined using micro-Kjeldahl digestion and distillation techniques (Bremner, 1996). Available P was determined by Bray II method (Olsen and Sommers, (1982). Exchangeable K, Ca and Mg were extracted with a 1 M NH4OAc, pH 7 solution. Thereafter, K was analysed with a flame photometer and Ca and Mg were determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Okelabo et al., 2002)

Agro organic wastes analysis

After the processing of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate, small samples were taken for laboratory analysis to determine their chemical compositions. Organic carbon was determined by the Walkely and Black procedure using the dichromate wet oxidation method (Nelson and Sommers 1996), total N by micro-Kjeldahl digestion followed by distillation and titration (Bremner, 1996) . While P, K, Na, Ca and Mg was carried out using the wet digestion procedure; established on 25–5–5 ml of HNO₃ - 7H₂SO₄ - 7HClO₄ (Horwitz, 1997). Phosphorus was determined calorimetrically by the molybdate blue method in an auto-analyser, K by flame photometry, and Ca and Mg by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Okalebo et al. 2002). Soil pH was determined using the same procedures used for soil analysis.

Treatments and Experimental Design

The experiment consisted of five treatments namely: 0 (control), 300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer, 10 t/ha poultry manure (poultry droppings), 10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate, 5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four (4) replications.

Cultural details

Experimental land area of 20 m x 16 m (320 m²) of approximately 0.032 ha was cleared manually; stumps and debris were packed without burning. The experimental area was divided into four blocks while each block was further divided into five (5) plots making it 20 plots. Each plot size was 3 m x 3 m. The plots were separated by 1m while the blocks were separated with a pathway of 1m. Poultry manure was cured for seven days and applied at 10 t/ha. Spent mushroom substrate was processed for seven days and applied at 10 t/ha. The mixture of poultry manure and spent mushroom was half rates of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate (5 tonnes of poultry manure + 5 tonnes of spent mushroom substrate). Poultry droppings in form of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate was applied at a week before sowing. The seeds were sown on the 18^th of May 2017. The planting distance within and between rows was 30 cm x 30 cm. The seed rate was three seeds per hole and later thinned to one seedling per stand at two weeks after sowing (2 WAS) to give a plant population of 64 plants per plot of approximately 71,111 plants per hectare. NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer was applied at a recommended rate of 300 kg /ha using ring method of application at three weeks after sowing (3 WAS) . Hoe weeding was carried in all the plot at 3 and 7 WAS. Birds were scared away especially during the milking stage by Human bird scarers.

Data collection

Data were collected at weekly intervals starting from 6 weeks after sowing (WAS). Data were taken randomly from three plants from each plot. The following parameters were taken: plant height, number of tillers, leaf area (leaf length and leaf width 0.75, Remison and Lucas, 1982), fresh weight of tillers, dry weight of tillers, dry weight of panicles, dry weight of 1000 grains and grain yield.

Statistical analysis

Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS (2003) statistical package and means were separated by using least significant difference (LSD) at 5% level of probability.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Soil and Agro- organic wastes Analysis

Some of the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil at the experimental site are presented in Table 1. In texture, the soil was sandy loam with sand, silt and clay contents of 76.1 %, 11 % and 2.9 %. The relative high sand content in the experimental site could be due to the nature of the parent material. Akamigbo and Asadu (1983) noted that parent materials of the soils of Southeastern Nigeria are influenced by the texture of the soils. The pH of the soil was slightly acidic and it fell within the range of 5 .5 to 6.5 required for upland rice production in Nigeria.

The soil had a low organic matter content of 1.29 % as against the critical value of 2.0% reported by Ibedu et al. (1988). The low organic carbon and organic matter of the soil could be attributed to insufficient organic litter and continuous crop cultivation. It could also be attributed to high fraction of sand.

The total N content of the soil (0.07 %) was low compared with the critical value of 0.15 % in southeastern soil (Ibedu et. al., 1988). The low value of nitrogen might be attributed to continuous cropping, mineralization and the leaching effect caused by intensive rainfall that is common in South-eastern Nigeria. Available phosphorus with Bray II method of extraction was low compared with the critical level of 15 mg/kg reported by Ibedu et al. (1988), in Southeastern soil of Nigeria probably as a result of P fixation. Fixation occurs when P reacts with other minerals to form insoluble compounds and becomes unobtainable to crops uptake. The soil was low in exchangeable cations against their critical level of 0.5 cmol/kg for Ca, Mg (0.30 cmol/kg) K (0.20 cmol/kg) respectively for soil in South-eastern Nigeria (Ibedu et al., 1988). This might be attributable to weathering of parent material, leaching and intensive cultivation.

The chemical properties of the agro organic wastes before planting are presented in Table 1. The pH of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate were close to neutral. Spent mushroom substrate had a higher C/ N ratio than poultry manure which implies that it decomposes faster and releases nutrients into soil than spent mushroom substrate. Poultry manure had a higher content of N, P, K, Mg and Ca than spent mushroom substrate. Generally, both agro organic wastes were higher in nutrients (N, P, K, Mg and Ca) and lower in C/N ratio than the soil used for the experiment. The C/N ratio of both agro organic wastes were lower than 20 reported by Spanish legislation for organic manure Gil et al. (2008), which implies that the rate of mineralization of both agro organic wastes are higher than immobilization (Busari et al., 2008).

Table 1: Some chemical properties of the soil and agro – organic wastes before sowing

Composition	Soil	Poultry manure	Spent mushroom substrate
Physical properties
Sand (%)	76.10
Silt (%)	11.00
Clay (%)	2.90
Textural class	Sandy loam
Chemical properties
pH (H20)	6.02	6.60	6.62
Total organic carbon (%)	0.75	2.7	2.01
Organic matter (%)	1.29	4.65	3.47
Total nitrogen (%)	0.07	0.29	0.20
C/N ratio	10.71	9.31	10.05
Available P (mg/kg)	7.27	19.13	12.95
Cation exchange capacity (Cmol/kg)
Ca	0.40	0.36	0.34
Mg	0.23	0.28	0.24
K	0.10	0.24	0.16

Table 5: Effect of agro wastes manure and NPK on fresh weight of tillers, dry weight of tillers, dry weight of panicle, 1000 dry weights of grains and grain yield of rice

Treatment	FWOT (Kg/ha)	DWOT (Kg/ha)	DWOP (g/plant)	1000 DWOG (g)	Grain yield (t/ha)
0 (control)	1.90	0.80	26.88	26.52	1.63
300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer	2.26	0.82	29.56	26.75	2.13
10 t/ha poultry manure	2.66	1.05	30.34	29.28	2.46
10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	2.34	1.04	32.96	30.09	2.29
5 t/ha poultry manure+ 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	3.00	1.42	40.58	35.32	2.65
LSD (P =0.05)	NS	NS	NS	NS	NS

FWOT = Fresh weight of tillers, DWOT= Dry weight of tillers, DWOP = Dry weight of panicle, DWOG = Dry Weight of grains, NS = Not significant at 5% level of probability

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated the application of agro wastes manures against NPK fertilizer in upland rice cultivation. Though the agro waste materials and NPK fertilizer had similar growth attributes (plant height and leaf area), yield and yield (number of tillers, fresh weight of tillers, dry weight of tillers, weight of panicle, grains, weight of panicle and 1000 dry weight of grains and grain yield) but the growth, yield and yield components tended to be higher in combination of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate. Therefore, combination of poultry manure and spent mushroom substrate is recommendable to farmers since they complement each other and served as a better alternative to NPK 15: 15: 15 fertilizer, which is scarce and expensive.

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Treatment	6WAS	9WAS	12WAS	15WAS
0 (control)	51.00	51.33	56.13	54.73
300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer	51.60	59.93	58.87	57.13
10 t/ha poultry manure (poultry droppings)	52.67	63.33	65.73	64.73
10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	51.93	59.07	64.07	65.33
5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	57.20	63.60	68.45	69.33
LSD (P = 0.05)	NS	NS	NS	NS

Treatment	6WAS	9WAS	12WAS	15WAS
0 control)	33.73	34.77	44.40	49.99
300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer	31.03	40.36	45.03	50.00
10 t/ha poultry manure	41.85	42.28	47.78	59.81
10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	41.15	41.87	47.35	58.50
5 t/ha poultry manure + 5 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	44.76	45.15	51.97	59.53
LSD (P = 0.05)	NS	NS	NS	NS

Treatment	6 WAS	9 WAS	12WAS	15WAS
0 (control)	4.13	8.17	9.07	10.13
300 kg/ha NPK (15 – 15- 15) Fertilizer	4.47	9.80	9.20	11.67
10 t/ha poultry manure	5.33	9.53	10.93	12.27
10 t/ha spent mushroom substrate	4.60	8.87	9.26	11.00
5t/ha poultry manure + 5t/ha spent mushroom substrate	6.53	10.67	11.07	12.80
LSD (P = 0.05)	NS	NS	NS	NS