Yield Response of Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana L.) to Poultry Manure Application in Western Kenya

Abstract

Declining soil fertility is affecting finger millet production in western Kenya and inorganic fertilizer use is expensive for most small holder farmers. With over 90% of farmers keeping poultry, its manure appears to be a potential alternative source of fertilizer for finger millet production. An experiment was conducted at KALRO - Kakamega to evaluate the yield response of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) to different rates of poultry manure (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 t/ ha). This was carried out during the long rains season (March - August) and short rains season (September - December) of 2016. Experimental layout was a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Results indicated significant yield increase from 1,148 kg/ ha (control 0 t/ ha rate) to 1,925.9 kg/ ha (5 t/ ha rate), which was significantly different from the 10 t/ ha rate (2,463 kg/ha) during the long rains season. No significant yield increase was observed beyond 10 t/ha. Similarly, no significant yield difference was recorded with increasing rates of poultry manure during the short rains season. This clearly indicated that, during the short rains season, finger millet yield may have been affected by other factors besides poultry manure rates. Significantly higher mean yields were recorded during the long rains (2,431.7 k ha) when compared to the short rains season (936.5 kg/ ha). The positive yield response of finger millet to increased rates of poultry manure application during the long rains season indicates that smallholder farmers can consider using poultry manure (5-10 t/ha) as an alternative fertilizer for finger millet production.