A Dissertation Submitted To The Department Of Crop And Soil Sciences Education, Faculty Of Agriculture Education

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted from June to September 2022 at the Multipurpose Crop Nursery of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mampong – Ashanti. The main objective of the study was to determine the response of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) to different soil amendments. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used with five treatments and replicated three times. The treatments were: 10 t/ha chicken manure, 225 kg/ha NPK (15-15-15), 225 kg/ha of NPK (15-15-15) + 60 kg/ha Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4), a combination of 5 t/ha chicken manure and 112.5 kg/ha NPK (15- 15-15), 60 kg/ha Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4) and control (no fertilizer). The results revealed that although 10 t/ha Chicken manure, was the best in terms of both vegetative and yield parameters, the Combination of 5 t/ha chicken manure and 112.5 kg/ha NPK (15-15-15), 225 kg/ha NPK (15-15-15), 225 kg/ha of NPK (15 - 15 - 15) + 60 kg/ha Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4), and 60kg/ha Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4) were all significantly (P≤0.05) higher than the control. Specifically, 10 t/ha Chicken manure promoted the stem diameter growth of cowpea plants, canopy width, and timely flowering of the cowpea plant as compared to the others. It also contributed to the number of pods per cowpea plant, the number of filled pods per plot as well as pod length, and the number of seeds per pod. In conclusion, chicken manure was found to influence the vegetative growth and yield of cowpea, so policymakers and stakeholders in the Agricultural sectors should support farmers through education to enable them to use organic fertilizer rather than inorganic fertilizer which is costly and scarce.