Effect of organic fertilizer and irrigation regimes on lettuce production in Northern Ghana

The experiment was conducted for two (2) seasons i.e., dry and rainy seasons, with the aim to evaluate the yield of lettuce when kraal manure, sheep droppings and compost fertilizer is used as soil amendment, determine the effect of each treatment on water use efficiency. The treatments were kraal manure, sheep droppings, and compost fertilizer applied at 60 t/ha. The result showed that growing lettuce using the 3 treatments significantly affected its stem girth, number of leaves, individual weight and above ground biomass weight. Lettuce grown with sheep droppings amendment was found to have higher yield in terms of the weight, aboveground biomass and plant height. Lettuce grown without any organic treatment recorded ­the least in most of parameters (canopy diameter, plant height, number of leaves, fresh root weight, individual lettuce weight). The effect of organic fertilizer on Soil physiochemical properties was positive and recorded significant difference across the treatments. Soil pH and electrical conductivity recorded the highest increase in the soil amended with sheep droppings, while the bulk density recorded the least in the soil amended with compost fertilizer. The application of organic fertilizers especially sheep droppings at 60 t/ha is recommended to obtain higher yield of lettuce and maintain sustainability of the soil.