Influence of Water hyacinth - based Vermicompost and Cassava –groundnut Intercropping on some Physical Properties of a Tropical Soil

Abstract

The study was aimed at observing the effects of a mix of water hyacinth and animal manure-based vermicomposts and mineral fertilizer on bulk density and total porosity of soil under cassava planted sole and intercropped with groundnut. The treatments consisted of four nutrient sources (0 kg i.e. no mineral fertilizer or vermicompost, 200 kg NPKMg 12:12:17:2; 40 tons of a mix of dry water hyacinth and poultry manure based-vermicompost-VP, and 40 tons of a mix of dry water hyacinth and cow dung-based vermicompost-VC), three cropping densities (50,000, 100,000 and 200,000 plants ha^-1) and two cropping patterns (sole cassava and cassava-groundnut intercrop). The experiment was arranged in a 4x3x2 factorial with a randomized complete block design using three replicates. Results show that the organic nutrient sources significantly (P< 0.05) reduced bulk density than mineral fertilizer.  On average, cassava-groundnut mixtures reduced bulk density by 4.5% relative to sole cassava.  A non-significant increase in total porosity was observed in this study. The positive influence of the vermicomposts on soil structural properties is expected to result in improved crop yield and quality.

Keywords: Water hyacinth, soil bulk density, total porosity, vermicompost. Cassava, groundnut