Growth, Yield, Nutritional and Mineral Composition of Solanum macrocarpon L. as Affected by Fertilizer Application

Indigenous vegetables are plant species that are of great nutritional and medicinal importance. In a bid to ensure their domestication, availability and consumption, it is necessary to investigate their response to fertilizer treatment and other suitable agronomic practices that will enhance their cultivation and nutritional composition. In this study, an experiment was carried out to determine the effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield of Solanum macrocarpon. The experiment was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design with four treatments: NPK 200 kg /ha, - T1, Poultry manure 6t/ ha - T2, NPK and Poultry manure 100 kg/ha + 3 t/ha - T3, Control, No Fertilizer - T4. Leaf area, plant height, number of leaves, and stem diameter were measured using standard methods. Proximate and mineral analyses were also carried out in accordance with standard chemical methods. The growth and yield of S. macrocarpon was improved by fertilizer application. All growth parameters measured increased with plant age and significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among the treatments. Results obtained from this study also highlighted the potential of poultry as an alternative source of Nitrogen required for plant growth. Although both organic and inorganic fertilizers improved the growth performance of the vegetable, yet, the inorganic fertilizer produced the best results for all the parameters studied. Inorganic (NPK) and organic (Poultry manure) fertilizer increased soil fertility and improved the nutritional composition, but Solanum macrocrapon plants grown with inorganic fertilizer performed better.