EVALUATION OF Albizia lebbeck LEAF AND BARK EXTRACTS ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF MAIZE (Zea mays L.)

Abstract

The issue of Soil nutrient depletion is indeed a significant concern in agriculture, leading to poor crop yields and decreased fertility. The use of synthetic and organic manures has been explored to address this issue, but some of these solutions have had unintended negative consequences, such as: Soil degradation, Water pollution, Reduced soil biodiversity, Negative impacts on human health. This study therefore investigated the potential of aqueous extracts from the bark and leaves of Albizia lebbeck as liquid fertilizers for promoting the growth and yield of maize. Aqueous extract source (leaf and plant bark), application rates of plants part and four application rates (100ml, 200ml, 300ml and 400ml) per plant, organic fertilizer, inorganic fertilizer and control. The experiment was replicated three times. The experiment was laid out in complete randomized design (CRD). Data collected on growth and yield parameters were Plant Height (PH), Number of Leaves (NL), Stem Girth (SG), Leaf Area (LA), Cob length (CL), Fresh Cob weight (FCW), Dry Cob Weight (DCW) and Weight Per100grains (WPG) were measured at 2weeks interval. Data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance using SAS 2002 and means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at P≤0.05. The maize plant treated with A.lebbeck bark at 20% and 10% concentration had the highest value for the aqueous extract plant height (190.3cm) and leaf area (720.8cm) respectively while inorganic fertilizer had the highest stem girth (19.3cm).For yield parameters, Albizia lebbeck bark aqueous extract at 30% concentration had the highest dry weight (36.7g), cob length (11.3g), and seed weight (29.3g) respectively. . Conclusively, the application of leaf and bark extracts of Albizia lebbeck at different concentration as soil supplement brought about improvement in the soil fertility, evident from the growth and yield of maize. These tree species on farmland, under agroforestry system are helpful to increase the performance of maize. It is therefore recommended that Albizia lebbeck leaf aqueous extract at 30% concentration be used for Oba super 6 maize hybrid cultivation.