INFLUENCE OF MANURES ON SEEDLING SPROUTING AND EARLY GROWTH RATE OF MORINGA (Moringa oleifera Lam) IN SAHEL SAVANNA OF NIGERIA

This research was conducted in the Nursery site of Federal College of Forest Resources Management, Maiduguri, Borno State (110 55’11’’ N and longitude 130 11’ 05’’ E at an elevation of 312m above sea level) during 2024 dry season. The research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effects of different manures on seedling growth rate of Moringa in the nursery. The treatments consisted of seven manure types arranged in a Randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. Data on growth characters such as plant height, stem girth, number of branches, crop growth rate, and fresh / dry weight plant-1 were determined and the data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and significantly different means were separated using Student- Newman Keuls (SNK) test at 5% level of probability. The results of the study showed that increase in nitrogen application significantly (P < 0.05) increased growth and yield characters of the plant where highest means of the growth characters were obtained with Poultry droppings, Urea, Cow dung, NPK and Compost Manures. Therefore, it is suggested either organic or inorganic manures can be adopted as treatment for fast growth performance of Moringa seedlings by farmers in the study area.