Growth, Dry Matter and Fruit Yields Components of Okra under Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients

Pot and field experiments were conducted at Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, Nigeria between 2002 and 2004 to determine okra response to organic and inorganic sources of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. The experimental design was a factorial experiment fitted into randomized complete block with three replicates. In the pot experiment okra variety NHAe 47-4 was nourished with four N levels (0, 25, 50 and 75 kg N ha-1) and five compost rates (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 Mg ha-1) while in the field experiment the same variety of okra was fertilized with three N levels (0, 25 and 75 kg N ha-1) and four compost rates (0, 2, 3 and 4.0 Mg ha-1). The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block replicated thrice. Data were collected on growth parameters, dry matter production and partitioning and marketable fresh fruit yield. The analysis of variance was performed on the data following procedure of Gomez and Gomez and significant means will be compared using Duncan‘s Multiple range test (P # 0.05). All data collected were reported as average of 2002 and 2004 trials. Application of 75 kg N ha-1 gave the highest okra fruit yield of 11.46 Mg ha-1. This is not significantly different from 11.41 and 11.44 Mg ha-1 fruit yield obtained when the crop was fertilized with either 50 kg N/ha or 4.0 Mg ha-1 compost. It is concluded that for optimum performance of okra, 4 Mg ha-1 compost that could be reduced if fortified with small amount of mineral fertilizer is adequate.