Organic fertilization in the fourth year moringa crop and its effect on the production and extraction of n-p-k

Abstract

Moringa is a tree to which numerous properties are attributed, both beneficial to health and for the environment; where most of the richness of nutrients is found in the leaves, which are extracted from the soil. Bovine manure as a fertilizer provides a good amount of nutrients that are essential for the production of leaves. The general objective of the work was to evaluate the effect of the application of bovine manure doses on the production and extraction of N-P-K in moringa leaves. The experiment was carried out within the Tekove Green Farm, located in the district of Pirbebuy, Department of Cordillera, during the period from November 2020 to February 2021. The experimental design used was complete randozimed block design, where 0.5 , 10 and 15 t ha-1 of bovine manure, with four repetitions. The variables evaluated were height of plant regrowth, number of leaves per plant, stem diameter, yield of dry leaves, number of biomass, concentrations and total extractions of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from dry leaves. The application of bovine manure generated significant differences in the height of the regrowth, obtaining greater value with the treatment of the dose of 15 tn ha-1, with a height of 202 cm and 152 cm in the first and second harvest, respectively. With the diameter of the stem, the highest values were obtained in the first and second harvest with values of 4.10 cm and 5.40 cm, respectively. The number of shoots per plant was not influenced by the organic fertilizer. The number of leaves had an increase with the treatment of 15 tn ha-1. The fresh mass yield reached the highest value of 903 kg ha-1 with the application of 15 tn ha-1. The dry mass yield did not have a significant response in the two harvests. The nutrient concentration varied from 28.09 g kg-1 to 29.05 g kg-1 for N, 2.36 g kg-1 to 2.71 g kg-1 for P, 7.23 g kg-1 to 10.22 g kg-1 for K. The application of bovine manure increased leaf production, however, it did not increase the concentration of N-P-K. There was greater export of nutrients N and K