Abstract
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a valuable crop for millions of small scale farmers around the tropics. Despite its importance, the production of the crop in semi-arid tropics is constrained by shorter rain duration and low soil nutrient status. The present studies was carried out during the 2007 and 2008 rainy seasons to study the influence of cow dung application on the yield and yield components of two groundnut varieties in the region. Treatments consisted of factorial combination of two groundnut varieties (Ex-Dakar and RMP-12) and three cow dung levels (0, 15 and 30 t ha−1) making a total of six treatment combinations. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. The findings of this research revealed that Ex-Dakar variety performed better than RMP-12 in all the parameters measured. Application of cow dung increased the number of pods plant−1, pod yield and grain yield of the crop and was optimum at the rate of 15 t ha−1. Thus, Ex-Dakar variety could be suggested for increased groundnut production in the study area. Application of cow dung at the rate of 15 t ha−1 was optimum for groundnut production in the study area.