Effects of some animal manure and rate of application on growth, herbage and seed yields of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana var. Callide)

An experiment was conducted twice concurrently at Vom in Plateau State Nigeria in 2011 to evaluate the effects of three animal based organic fertilizers and three rates of application on the growth, seed and herbage yields of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana var. Callide). This study involved three types (poultry, rabbit and sheep dung) of animal fertilizer and three rates (0, 25 and 50 t ha-1) of application in a 3 x 3 factorial arrangement fitted into randomized complete block design and replicated three times. Animal fertilizers significantly (p < 0.05) increased growth, seed, fresh herbage and dry matter yields of Rhodes grass. Generally, fertilizers from poultry and rabbit were similar and better (p < 0.05) than that of sheep in the enhancement of the measured variables. At 6 weeks after fertilizer application (WAF), fresh herbage yield was in the range of 14.6 – 48.3 t ha-1 whereas dry matter yield ranged from 4.7 – 13.9 t ha-1 while seed yield was 1.8 – 2.3 t ha-1. At 12 WAF, rabbit fertilizer produced significantly higher values than sheep fertilizer by 21.2 % for sward height, 70.1 % for fresh herbage yield and 61.4 % for dry matter yield. The correlation coefficients among the measured variables were positive and highly significant. The highest correlation recorded (0.937**) was between fresh herbage and dry matter yields. The study indicated that application of either rabbit or poultry fertilizer can suitably enhance Rhodes grass growth for higher herbage and seed yields. The study also showed that 25 and 50 t ha-1 of animal fertilizers on Rhodes grass yielded similar results. With adequate fertilizer application, Rhodes grass can produce sufficient herbage to meet the nutritional requirement of several ruminant livestock. It is not economical to apply more than 25 t ha-1 of animal fertilizers to Rhodes grass if they contain more than 1.21 % of nitrogen.