Effect of Tillage and Poultry Manure Rates on Physiological Growth and Yield of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Abstract

Abstract A field trial was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Ilorin during the 2015 and 2016 cropping seasons to assess the effect of tillage methods and poultry manure application on the growth and yield of sesame. The experiment was laid out as a split plot arrangement, fitted into a randomized complete block replicated thrice. The factors consisted of three tillage methods and four levels of poultry manure application (0, 5, 10, and 15 tha−1). The result revealed that tillage and poultry manure significantly (P<0.05) increased the growth and yield of sesame. Increasing the rate of poultry manure resulted in an increase in the net assimilation rate, relative growth rate, and crop growth rate. The yield in 2016 was higher than that of 2015 due to higher rainfall and residual effect of the previous cropping season. Yield per hectare was optimized using conventional tillage method and poultry manure at 15 tha−1. Although the conventional tillage and poultry manure treatments produced the highest yield, the control plot gave the highest cost and returns (return per investment) in the two years of study due to high cost of farm inputs. The result of the study further affirms farmer’s reluctance on the use of external inputs for yield enhancement in sesame.