Response of Upland Rice and Soil Chemical Properties to Formulated Organic Manures in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria

Response of upland rice and soil chemical properties to formulated organic manures evaluated at Teaching and Research Farm, Department of Agronomy, Delta State University, Asaba Campus for two cropping seasons. Five manures (FRH, RHW, RHCDW, RHC and RHCDC were formulated with rice husk and cowdung, and for twelve weeks. Water and cassava mill effluent used were also added during turning at weekly interval and were applied at 5 t ha-1. The experiment was layout in randomized complete block design with four replicates. New rice for Africa was used as test crop, and height, number of leaves, total leaf area, plant girth, dry matter and rice yield were measured while soil pH, organic matter, total N, available P and exchangeable bases were determined after harvest. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance, mean differences were separated with DMRT at 5% level of probability. The result shows that RHCDC had highest number of leaves and total leaf area while RHCDW had highest plant height, plant girth, dry matter and rice yield. Both were not significantly different, but significantly higher than other manures. All the manures improved soil chemical properties, therefore it can be concluded that RHCDW is more effective in Asaba and its environment. Key words: Rice husk, organic fertilizer, upland rice, soil chemical properties, cowdun