EFFECTS OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF AMARANTHUS CRUENTUS IN ILE-IFE,
Authors:
AKINWOLE Oladele
Publication Type: Journal article
Journal:
ISSN Number:
0
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Abstract
Amaranthus cruentus is perishable in nature which necessitates its production in the urban and peri-urban regions for market proximity. The aim of the study was to analyse the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on Amaranthus cruentus production with the view to choosing the most profitable Amaranth production method. Data were collected with the aid of well-structured questionnaires that were administered to 140 farmers. Descriptive statistics, budgetary and multiple regression analysis were the analytical methods employed to achieve the objectives.
The results indicated that 60.7% of the Amaranth farmers were females and 37% of the respondents were organic manure users. 0.65 acre was the mean size of the plot where organic fertilizer was used and 0.5 acre was the mean plot size for inorganic fertilizers. The gross margin for organic fertilizer users and inorganic fertilizer users were N52,333.10 per acre and N59,717.28 per acre respectively while N51,033.10 per acre and N58,156.48 per acre were their respective net income. Multiple regression estimates indicated that farm size, years of experience, labour and seed were significant variables determining the profitability of the crop. The study showed that the use of both types of fertilizer was profitable especially with the inorganic fertilizer. However, to increase production, the study revealed that farm size and labour must be given a positive attention.
