THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF TWO OKRA VARIETIES AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POULTRY MANURE

The reliance on the use of organic fertilizers (OFs) to boost yields and quality of crops is on the increase all over the world. This guarantees not only food security, but also the production of heathy food especially where promising cultivars are used. Therefore, this field study was conducted during 2024 raining season at Federal University Gashua, Nigeria, to investigate the effect of different levels of poultry manure (PM) (0, 3, 6, and 9 t ha⁻¹) on two varieties of okra (NHAR 47-4 and Jawa local). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The effect of variety on plant height was significant as Jawa local variety produced the tallest plants at 7 and 10 weeks after sowing (66.75 cm and 125.36 cm) compared to (50.71 cm and 73.83 cm) from NHAR 47-4 improved variety. However, NHAR 47-4 variety produced significantly longer fruits/pods and highest number of fruits/pods throughout the harvest periods, and highest total fresh fruit weight (694.3 g) per plant compared to 65.9 g from Jawa local. The interaction results also revealed that the highest number of fruits were obtained from NHAR 47-4 variety when 9 t ha-1 PM was added after the third harvest. Therefore, NHAR 47-4 variety performed better in some yield attributes than Jawa local variety especially with the addition of 9 t ha-1. Thus, 9 t ha-1 of PM is recommended, especially under the Sahel agro-ecological condition.