Growth and Development of Abelmuschus esculentus (Okra) in Gully Eroded Soil Amended with Different Rates of Cow Dung Manure

The growth and development of Abelmuschus esculentus (okra) in gully eroded soil amended with different rates of cow dung manure was studied using the complete randomized design; morphormetric data such as leaf area, plant height, stem girth, numbers of nodes, number of leaves and percentage flowering was collected and analyzed. A 30 kg of gully eroded soil sample was put into a sac in triplicate and six treatments of cow dung was introduced into it (0.5 kg, 1.0 kg, 1.5 kg, 2.0 kg, 2.5 kg and 3.0 kg) respectively. The results of study showed that there is a significant difference in all the treatments compared to control. Highest petiole length (31.63±1.84) of Okra plant was obtained at week seven with 2.0 kg amended soil. The 2.5 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest leave length with the mean of 30.36±2.47 while the least leave length occurred in the 2.5 kg treatment at week 1 with the mean value of 0.49±0.03. The 2.0 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest leave length with the mean of 36.96±1.15 while the least leave length occurred in the 2.5 kg treatment at week 1 with the mean value of 0.44±0.03. The 1.0 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest length of internode (23.16±3.55) while the least length of internode occurred in the control at week 2 (0.86±0.23). At week 1 for all treatments, no result was obtained for length of internodes. The 0.5 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest number of leaves with the mean of 21.33±4.93 while the least number of leaves occurred in the 0.5 kg, 2.0 kg and 2.5 kg treatments respectively at week 1 and in the control sample at week 2. The result also revealed that the 1.0 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest stem length (154.73±30.99) while the least stem length occurred in the 2.0 kg at week 1(0.46±0.03). The 3.0 kg treatment of manure at week 7 had the highest stem girth (9.33±0.51) while the least stem girth occurred in the 2.5 kg at week 1(0.31±0.02). The soil analysis result showed that nitrogen was highest in the soil at 2.0 kg treatment of cow dung (402±2.51) while the 1.5 kg treatment and control had the least nitrogen content (322±0.57) and (322±3.05) respectively. The highest phosphorus content was 1.0 kg treatment of cow dung (986±1.53), with the control having the lowest phosphorus content (280±2.00). On the potassium content, the 2.5 kg treatment had the highest (843±0.57) while the control had the least content of potassium (357±1.52). The overall result showed that the growth and development of okra was enhanced by application of cow dung which influenced soil nutrient status positively.