Abstract

Author:
Nwaiwu Chinelo Jennifer, Chilaka Vitus Akachukwu, Onunwa Akudo Ogechukwu, Nnabuihe Emmanuel Chinweike, Okafor Maduabuchi Johnson, Nwosu Tochukwu Victor

Doi: 10.26480/jwbm.01.2026.30.38

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Application of animal manures is considered to be an efficient technique to increase soil fertility and crop yield. A field experiment was conducted in the Teaching and Research Farm, Department of Soil Science and Land Resource Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Ifite-Ogwari to evaluate the impact of different rates of cattle dung on soil physicochemical properties and yield of cucumber. Treatment consisted of cattle dung at 0t/ha CD, 5t/ha CD, 10t/ha CD, 15t/ha CD, and 20 t/ha CD. Randomized complete block design with four replications was followed. Plant morphological characteristics such as vine length and number of leaves were recorded at second, fourth, and sixth weeks after planting. Number of fruits, fruit size (length and width), and fresh weight of fruits were recorded at maturity. Soil samples were collected before and 12 weeks after incorporation of organic matter and analyzed for particle size distribution (% sand, silt, and clay), bulk density, total porosity, moisture content, and various chemical properties such as pH, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, organic carbon, exchangeable bases, and acidity. The data collected from the field and laboratory were subjected to analysis of variance using GenStat. Separation of the means was done using least difference (LSD) at 5% probability level. The results showed that the plot that received 20 t/ha CD had higher values for some physical properties parameters such as bulk density, total porosity, and moisture content. It also had higher values for some chemical properties such as pH, available phosphorus, total nitrogen, Mg2+, and base saturation. In contrast, 15 t/ha CD had higher values for organic carbon, basic cations such as Ca2+ and K+, and CEC. The control had higher values for Na+. The use of 20 t/ha CD had higher values for the number of leaves, length of the vine, number of fruits, fresh fruit weight, length, width of fruit, and also for the microbial population on the soil.