Agricultural and Biological Research

Comparative study of organic manure (cow dung, goat dung and chicken manuare) on the vegetative growth of Amaranthus dubius L

Ramadevi S*, Sivaranjani S, Vijaya Samoondeeswari S, Ramabhai V, Arulnangai R and Murugesan R

The study's overarching goal is to examine the effects of three different types of organic fertilizer on the growth of Amaranthus dubius vegetative parts. On a split plot, we applied five different amendments: None (M₁), cow dung (M₂), chicken dung (M₃), goat dung (M₄), and an equal quantity of cow dung, chicken dung, and goat dung (M₅), all at 2 kg N/ha. Experiments showed that Nitrogen (N), Potash (K₂O), Organic Carbon (C), and Phosphorus (P), as well as stem and leaf length and breadth and number of leaves, were all substantially (P<0.01) enhanced after applications of these organic manures. The measurements taken included the height of the plant (10.1 cm to 43.2 cm), the breadth of the stem (2.1 cm to 5.9 cm), and the length of the leaves (6.2 cm to 12.1 cm), the width of the leaves (2.7 to 8.9 cm), and the number of leaves per plant (5 to 12). Plants grown with goat manure (M₄) were shown to have greater mean values for N, K₂O, C, and P, stem length, stem width, leaf length, leaf width, and the number of leaves per plant compared to values obtained from treatments with other organic manures. Across the board, goat dung outperformed dairy cow manure and chicken manure in the evaluations. This factored into the variation in the amendments' total nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and carbon content. The greatest responses in the field experiments occurred after the third crop harvest, which is consistent with an increase in organic N and P mineralization over time.