| dc.description.abstract | Purpose: Tomato is one of the most popular and versatile vegetables in the world and organic
production with high yields of desirable quality are a target of many producers. However, the
yield of tomatoes in Uganda are low compared to other parts of the world. The reason is that
most soils in Uganda are low in fertility. There is widespread soil degradation, due to massive
soil erosion resulting into loss of organic matter, high soil acidity and nutrient imbalance hence
low crop yields. This study aimed at establishing the effect of different poultry manure on the
performance of tomatoes.
Methodology: The field trials were conducted in the mid altitude environment at BSU farm.
Four treatments which included broiler, Layer, combination of Broiler and Layer chicken
manure and the control were applied. The study was carried out in a randomized complete
block design replicated four times. Measurements were made on number of leaves, number of
flowers, plant height, fruit weight, fruit size, number of tomatoes and yield per hectare. Broiler
and layer chicken manure increased the number of leaves, plant height number of flowers,
number of fruits, fruit weight and fruit size significantly.
Findings: The results indicate that poultry manure is very rich in macro nutrients. Among the
treatments, broiler and layer chicken manure gave the highest fruit yield of 13.8 and 13.4 tons
per hectare (t/ha) respectively. A combination of the manure produced 12.8 t/ha and the control
treatment gave the lowest yield of 8.1 tons per hectare (t/ha). There was no significant
difference between broiler and layer chicken manure. Both manures were equally good and
enhanced yield. Therefore, farmers may opt for either of the two depending on the availability.
Recommendation: The study recommend that either broiler or layer chicken manure can be
used for production of tomato in order to achieve high yields. | en_US |
