Abstract
An experiment was conducted at the screen house of the Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Akwa Ibom State University to evaluate the effect of animal manures on the growth and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) grown on coastal plain sand parent material. Soil samples were collected from 0-15cm depth, air dried, sieved to pass through 2mm mesh to determine the physiochemical properties. Ten (10kg) of soil were used for the pot experiment. Nutrient compositions of manure were also analysed. The experiments were laid out in a 3 x 4 split plot arrangement fitted into a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The main plots were animal manure (Goat, Pig and Poultry manure (M)) and sub-plots were four (4) rates of animal M (0, 1, 2, 3 t ha-1) applications. Data collected on growth parameters (plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves) and fresh weight and dry matter yield were evaluated. Results showed that the soil was low in nutrients and the animal manures contained high essential plant nutrients (N, P, K, and Ca). Results also showed that application of animal manures significantly (P < 0.05) increased plant height, number of leaves, stem diameter, fresh weight, and dry matter yield over the control. The yield increased with the increasing rates of application and the performance was not significantly different among the manure sources. The trend was: 5.56 t ha-1 ( at poultry M rate of 3.0 t ha-1), 5.07 t ha-1 ( at Pig M rate of 3.0 t ha-1) and 3.97 t ha-1 ( at Goat M rate 3.0 t ha-1). Therefore, this rate is recommended for use on coastal plain sand soils to improve maize production.