The potential of organic amendment (Icacina oliviformis tuber compost and animal manure) in savannah ochrosol soil in the era of sustainable agriculture

Soil nutrient levels have decreased due to continuous cultivation. To amend depleted soils, this study explored false yam (Icacina oliviformis) compost mixed with aged topsoil at 12, 14, and 16 weeks (W) in ratios of 1:1, 1:2, and 2:1, with topsoil (T4) serving as the control. After assessing for effectiveness, the best performing aged topsoil to false yam compost was integrated with animal manure (cow dung and pig droppings) as follows: topsoil: false yam: cow dung (FYCD)- (2:1:1), topsoil: false yam: pig droppings (FYPD)- (2:1:1), topsoil: false yam: cow-dung: pig droppings (FYCDPD)- (2:1:1/2:1/2) and topsoil: false yam (FY)- (2:1) as the control. The four treatments were evaluated using cucumber as the test crop and were replicated three times in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). FY and FYCD recorded similar results in the leaf area, followed by FYCDPD, and FYPD. FY and FYCD recorded similarly in plant girth at 2 weeks after planting (2WAP) and 4WAP. FYCD and FY recorded pH values of 5.57 and 5.61 respectively. These indicated that the period of decomposition had a significant effect on the performance on amendment quality. False yam compost aged 12 weeks at 2:1 topsoil to false yam compost ratio performed best. Also, false yam compost combined with cow dung offered positive support to crop performance although not significantly different from false yam compost (12W) only. This indicates that decomposed false yam tuber within 12W with or without cow dung may be used to amend the soil for better performance with enhanced soil properties.