EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT RATES OF COWDUNG MANURE ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF RADISH

A field experiment was conducted at National Horticultural Research Institute Farm at Kadawa during 2012 dry season, to study the effect of different rates of cowdung manure on growth and root yield of Radish (Raphanus sativus). Four rates of cowdung manure ( 20, 30, 40 and 50 t/ha) and control were investigated. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. The result showed that increasing cowdung manure above 30t/ha did not provide any significant difference in the number of leaves per plant (NOLP), leaf length per plant (LLP), root weight per plant (RWP), root length per plant (RLP), root diameter per plant (RDP) and root yield ha-1 (RY). However, maximum values of NOLP (23.10), LLP (23.82CM), LWP (146.67g), RWP (303.67g), RLP (24.16cm), RDP (6.11cm) and RY (189.38t/ha) were recorded in 50t/ha cowdung manure with corresponding minimum values of NOLP (13.53), LLP (17.47cm), RWP (113.33g), RDP (3.51cm) and RY (99.96t/ha observed in control. Based on the results of this study, it suggested that application of 20 tons per hectare cowdung manure had beneficial effect on leaf fresh weight and root yield of Radish.