Seedling development and juvenile growth of two yellow passion fruit genotypes as influenced by poultry manure rates

Abstract

Yellow passion fruit, consumed mainly as juice in many parts of the world, is an emerging fruit crop in south-eastern Nigeria. Farmers need vigorous seedlings for optimum performance in the field. For such, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of poultry manure (PM) rates on seedling development and juvenile growth of yellow passion fruit. Two yellow passion fruit genotypes (‘KPF-4’ and ‘Conventional’) received five poultry manure rates (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 t/ha). The experiment was laid out as a split plot in completely randomized design and replicated thrice. The result revealed that the early seedling growth performance of the two genotypes did not statistically (P>0.05) vary. On the other hand, there was a progressive increase in the growth parameters with increasing rate of PM. Specifically, the application of 20 t/ha PM produced tallest seedlings, broadest stems and highest number of leaves in the first five weeks after PM application. However, most vigorous vines (vine length, number of leaves, fresh weights of leaves, shoots, roots) and highest accumulation of dry matter were produced by KPF-4 vines grown with 40 t/ha PM although these did not vary significantly with values recorded with 20 t/ha PM application. In view of the economics of fertilizer use, it was recommended to apply poultry manure at 20 t/ha during nursery in the study area.