Green Manure Source Affects Growth and Vegetative Yield of Fluted Pumpkin

Application of green manure to the soil can improve soil quality and increase crop yields, especially in organic farming. An experiment was conducted between April and October 2014 to determine nutritional potential of the soil amendments: Aleshinloye grade B organic manure; Mexican sunflower manure [Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray]; Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) manure; Moringa (Moringa oleiferaLam.) manure, compared to a non-manure control. On growth and vegetative yield of Fluted pumpkin (Telfaira occidentalis Hook.F). At 2 week intervals, from 2 to 12 weeks after transplanting, number of leaves per plant, vine length per plant and number of branches per plant were determined. At harvest, fresh and dry leaf, stem and root weights were determined. Growth of Fluted pumpkin was generally enhanced by manures compared with untreated plants. Moringa, Mexican sunflower and Neem manures produced similar numbers of leaves, vine length and numbers of branches which were higher than Aleshinloye manure and the controls. Mexican sunflower manure had leaf dry weights, 38.19 g/plant, similar to Moringamanure, 24.76 g/plant, which were higher than Neem and Aleshinloye manures. Control plants had the lowest yield, 15.19 g/plant. Mexican sunflower manure could be an adequate source of nutrition in cultivation of Fluted pumpkin.