A field trial was carried out at the Imopoly Farm to determine the effects of rate of poultry manure on the growth and yield of Watermelon. Six different rates of poultry manure were replicated three times on eighteen beds. The treatments were; control plot, 2 tons/ha, 4 tons/ha, 6 tons/ha, 8 tons/ha, 10 tons/ha. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized block design. The experiment was carried out between February, 2011 and April 2011.
Data were taken on the growth and yield parameters. Five plants were randomly selected and tagged per plot for data collection. Establishment count; Plant height; Stem girth; Number of leaves per plant and Leaf area, were taken at 5 WAP and at harvest, to assess growth. Number of fruits per plant; Fresh fruit weight per bed, were taken to assess the yield.
The results of this study showed that Watermelon growth is not significantly different at 5 WAP. At harvesting, highest stem girth of 32.40mm was obtained with 4tons/ha while the lowest of 28.50mm was from 6tons/ha. Watermelon yield of 1.69kg was highest from 6tons/ha, while the lowest of 0.87kg was got from 4tons/ha.
The results of the study have shown that Watermelon will still perform fairly well without fertilizers on regularly − fertilized soils.
