Influence of cow and poultry manure on the performance of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) in Kangaru, Embu Kenya
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Date
2019
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University of Embu
Abstract
Spinach (Spinacia  oleracea)  is  a  perennial   vine  food  in the tropics  where it  is  
widely used    as  a leafy  vegetable. There has been inadequate  information   on  organic 
spinach  production  with the use of cattle  and   poultry  manure  thus the  luck  of  suitable 
organic  fertilizer  that  could complement    or  supplement    inorganic  fertilizer. The   objective 
of  this  research  was  to  evaluate  the  use  of   cattle  and  poultry  manure  in  the   production 
of  spinach. The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design with   three
treatments (triple super phosphate (TSP), poultry and cattle manure) replicated three times.
Data on number of leaves per plant, leaf fresh weight, length and width of fist leaf at 4-5 weeks
after planting. Data was subjected   to analysis of variance (ANOVA). The key   findings of  
study   revealed that poultry and cow manure had no significance difference in their influence
on plant growth. However,  there  was  a  significance difference  in  the weeks after application
with  poultry manure  being  the  best. The research recommends that   farmers need to
supplement or compliment inorganic and organic fertilizers during spinach production.  
Further research need to be undertaken so  as  to come up with the most suitable organic 
fertilizer  so  as  to  cut cost  of  spinach production, for  high  production  and  high  profit  in 
return.
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University of Embu, Undergraduate Projects 2019