Assessment of Soil Nutrients Enhancement by organic NPK® (compost) and Urea under Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Cultivation in Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, soil nutrient losses occasioned by inappropriate land uses are negatively impacting on food security for the growing population. The escalating cost of mineral fertilizers has limited the use of the commodity by smallholder farmers who produces most of the food consumed in the country. In this context, the use of organic materials as a soil amendment is critical to optimized crop yield per unit area of land. This experiment examined soil nutrient enhancement using organic NPK® and urea under sesame cultivation in Makurdi, Nigeria. The result from the study showed that, application of organic NPK® improves soil organic matter content and raises soil pH, total Nitrogen, available Phosphorus, and exchangeable cations. Similarly, seed weight of sesame positively correlated with manure and urea. It was deduced that yield obtained by addition of organic NPK® at 400kg/ha was statistically the same with yield obtained from urea at 150 kg/ha. This result implies that organic NPK® is a suitable substitute for fertilizer urea for sustainable cultivation of sesame.