COMPARISON OF RABBIT MANURE AS ORGANIC FERTILIZER, INORGANIC FERTILIZER AND RABBIT MANURE COMPOST ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF PENNISETUM PURPUREUM IN INFERTILE SOILS
Keywords:
Napier grass growth, Rabbit manure, Pennisetum purpureum, Infertile soilAbstract
Livestock farming relies heavily on high-quality forage to ensure optimal animal health and productivity. Pennisetum purpureum (Napier grass) is a vital forage crop widely cultivated due to its high biomass yield and nutritional value. However, the productivity and quality of P. purpureum are influenced by soil fertility. Additionally, the prolonged use of chemical fertilizers also degrades soil health, disrupts microbial balance, reduces long-term crop productivity and contributes to environmental pollution. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of rabbit manure as an organic fertilizer in improving the physical growth performance of P. purpureum cultivated in infertile soil. P. purpureum was grown in infertile soil with five different treatments: (1) control (no fertilizer), (2) rabbit manure as organic fertilizer, (3) chemical fertilizer, (4) compost, and (5) combination of organic and chemical fertilizers. The plants were cultivated in polybags and harvested on Day 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90. Growth parameters including plant height, number of tillers and leaf dimensions were measured at each of harvest intervals. This study demonstrated significant differences in growth parameters of P. purpureum across treatments and harvest intervals. P. purpureum treated with rabbit manure and compost showed consistent increase in number of tillers between Day 30 to Day 75. The height of P. purpureum treated with rabbit manure and compost recorded highest height on Day 75 compared to control and chemical fertilizer treated. However, P. purpureum treated with chemical fertilizer showed significant length of leaf compared to control and rabbit manure treated on Day 90. For leaf width, P. purpureum treated with compost demonstrated significant increase compared to other groups on Day 75. Additionally, P. purpureum treated with compost showed significant yield compared to other groups. This study concludes that organic amendments, rabbit manure and compost, significantly enhance the growth performance of P. purpureum in infertile soils. Organic fertilizers are recommended as sustainable alternatives to chemical fertilizers for enhancing P. purpureum growth. Future studies will examine soil improvements in microbial activity, micro- and macronutrient in contributing to long-term food security and sustainability.
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