Author(s)

F. T. Olatoberu¹, M. K. Idowu¹, J. A. Adepetu¹, O. O. Akinremi^2*

¹Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria.
²Department of Soil Science University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada.

Amaranthus cruentus is one of the sixty Amaranthus species of world. It is widely grown as a green leafy vegetable and for its grain in many tropical countries of Africa, Central and South American, Canada, Mexico and parts of Asia. Depleted soil fertility under intensive cultivation is a major limitation to production of the vegetable. The study investigated the effects of two types of poultry manure on biomass yield and nutrient uptake of Amaranth cruentus in a greenhouse at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2011. The experiment was a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial arranged into a Randomized Completely Block Design and replicated three times. The factors were two soil types, two sources of poultry manure and urea, and N rates at 0, 60 and 120 kg⋅N⋅ha⁻¹. Nitrogen uptake by the plants that treated with poultry manure from Canada (PMC) and Urea was 172.5 vs. 171.4 mg⋅pot⁻¹ and 169.5 vs. 163.7 mg⋅pot⁻¹ respectively which were significantly greater than the poultry manure from Nigeria (PMN), 100.6 mg⋅pot⁻¹ and 110.0 mg⋅pot⁻¹ for Red River and Glenhope soil series, respectively. Nitrogen uptake was similar at the N rates of 60 and 120 kg⋅N⋅ha⁻¹ (140.7 vs. 155.6 mg⋅pot−1) in the Red River soil, while N uptake at 120 kg⋅N⋅ha⁻¹ was greater than at 60 kg⋅N⋅ha⁻¹ in Glenhope soil. Shoot dry matter of the vegetable grown in soils treated with PMC and urea was significantly greater than from PMN in Red River soil (10.1, 9.6 and 6.7 g⋅pot⁻¹) and in Glenhope soil (8.8, 8.1 and 6.4 g⋅pot⁻¹). Phosphorus, K, Ca and Mg uptake at 60 and 120 kg⋅

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