Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances

Year: 2004
Volume: 3
Issue: 11
Page No. 758 - 762

The Use of Manure to Increase the Yield and Quality of Amaranthus to Feed Rabbit in a Humid Tropical Region

Authors : F. O. Adekayode

Abstract: The use of NPK 15-15-15 and of poultry manure and wood ash in improving the yield and quality of Amaranthus vegetable as rabbit feed supplement was investigated in an experiment conducted in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria in 2000 and 2001. The five manurial treatments investigated on Amarathus hybridus were NPK 15-15-15, Poultry Manure, Wood Ash, Poultry Manure - Wood Ash mixture and a control without manure application. Manure was applied at two weeks after transplanting. Amaranthus vegetable (Amaranthus hybridus) was raised in nursery and transplanted at three weeks. Harvesting by repeated cutting began at four weeks after transplanting and repeated at two weekly intervals. Total yield was taken and the proximate composition of percentages protein, fat, crude fiber and carbohydrate were carried out. The addition of NPK 15-15-15, poultry manure and wood ash manure improved the fertility status of the soil, which increased the yield and improved the quality of amaranthus vegetable. The increase in yield of amaranthus vegetable in plots treated with NPK 15-15-15, poultry manure, poultry manure - wood ash mixture and wood ash alone over the control plot without manure were 71.3%, 70.6%, 69.8% and 60.2% respectively while the corresponding increase in protein content, a good measure of nutrient quality, were 71.5%, 67.3%, 56.3% and 54.3% respectively. Nitrogen in soil correlated with yield (r=0.90) and with percentage protein in Amaranthus (r=0.96). The yield of amaranthus vegetable in plots treated with NPK 15-15-15, poultry manure and poultry manure-wood ash mixture were comparable. Poultry manure and wood ash that are cheaply obtained can replace NPK of high cost to increase yield of Amaranthus to feed rabbit.

How to cite this article:

F. O. Adekayode , 2004. The Use of Manure to Increase the Yield and Quality of Amaranthus to Feed Rabbit in a Humid Tropical Region . Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 3: 758-762.

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