Assessing the Potential of Cattle Manure and Extracts of Tea Waste and Eggshell as Soil Application on Growth and Yield of Okra (Abelmoschus sculentus L.)

Utilizing domestic wastes as organic fertilizer in agriculture leads to reduce the quantity of global waste and provide organic substitute for chemical fertilizers. This experiment was carried out to assess the potential of cattle manure and household waste (tea waste and eggshell) extracts on the growth and yield parameters of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.). The experimental design was a completely randomized design with eight treatments which were applications of no any fertilizers as a control (T1), chemical fertilizers (T2), cattle manure (CM) alone (T3), CM + tea waste (T4), CM + eggshell (T5), CM + eggshell treated with vinegar (T6), CM + tea waste + eggshell (T7) and CM + tea waste + eggshell treated with vinegar (T8). In this experiment, cattle manure (10 t/ha) was applied to T3-T8 treatments as basal soil application. Chemical fertilizers and cattle manure were applied based on the polybag size (0.15 m²). The diluted extracts of tea waste (100 mL per plant) and eggshell (50 mL per plant) were added to the soil as top dressing. The results indicated that soil application of cattle manure with tea waste and eggshell extracts had significant (p<0.05) effects on number of pods per plant, weight of pods per plant, root length, weight of crop residue and marketable pod yield than T3 treatment. Further, this study  revealed that T8 and T7 treatments increased the marketable pod yield by 23.4% and 15.1% respectively, compared to T2 treatment (chemical fertilizer) but statistically similar value was noted between them. Based on the results obtained in this study, combined use of cattle manure along with tea waste and eggshell treated vinegar extract as organic liquid fertilizer can be used in okra cultivation for enhancing crop yield in sandy regosol soil conditions. Suggestion for future study is to assess the impact of the specified treatment on yield and quality of okra under different soil conditions.