Efficacy study on the influence of Organic Manures and Tillage on Red Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) performance in a Sahel Savannah region of Nigeria

Abstract

The objectives of this work were to determine the effects of tillage depths, manure types, and the nature of theirrelationships with some performance indices and Grain Yield of red Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.). The experiment was laid out on a Split plot design; with Tillage depth (Zero, Shallow, and Deep Tillage) as main the plot,while Manure Type (No Manure, Cow Dung and Poultry Manure) was assigned to subplots. Upon analyses usingR-Software, Plots treated with Poultry Manure showed the highest positive response compared to no manure andcow dung in terms of growth parameters, above ground biomass (523.3 Kgha-1), and Grain Yield (696.0 Kgha-1).Zero Tillage performed better than shallow and deep tillage. It was concluded that interaction between zero tillageand poultry manure proved the best to improve cowpea grain yield with value of (1063.8 Kgha-1), above groundbiomass (766.7 Kgha-1), and can increase farmer’s income and feed for their livestock. Pearson’s Multiple LinearCorrelation indicated high positive relationship between organic manure and all Cowpea parameters measured (r≥ +0.65 ≤ +0.92). Tillage depth was found to significantly correlate with Pod length (r = -0.36*) and Single PodWeight (r = -0.40*) at P ≤ 0.05 in a negative passion.