Effective microorganisms and their influence on growth and yield of pigweed (amaranthus dubians)

Abstract

Pigweed (Amaranthus dubians) plants grow widely in many parts of the world. It is a very popular indigenous wild vegetable and is usually utilized by many communities as a nutritional additive. Pigweed is becoming very popular nowadays because of its high nutritive value and simple growth habits. However there is very little information about growth of this plant, using effective microorganisms, thus this study is designed to evaluate the effect of inoculation of effective microorganism on growth and yield of pigweed. The experiment was performed in five liter pots representing various conditions in the field. It comprised of four treatments, replicated, five times and arranged in a complete randomized design. One set of the treatments consisted of soil collected from the field, while the other treatments consisted of soil and organic manure prepared using effective microorganisms, sterilized soil treated with effective microorganisms, and sterilized soil plus organic manure without application of effective microorganisms respectively. Shoot height, stem diameter, leaf number per plant, leaf area, leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, root fresh weight, root dry weight and chlorophyll a and b contents were determined. Inoculated pigweeds with effective microorganisms recorded highest values in all the parameters measured except the root dry matter accumulation. There were significant differences (p≤0.05) in shoot height growth, stem diameter, leaf numbers per plant, leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight and root fresh and dry weights among treatments. There were no significant differences in leaf chlorophyll content among the treatments even though chlorophyll a and b contents were slightly higher in plants inoculated with effective microorganisms. The three other treatments had significantly lower values of the parameters determined. The results from this study demonstrated that growth and yield of pigweeds may be improved by inoculating the plants with effective microorganisms, and as a result reduce the use of fertilizers in production of this vegetable hence promoting sustainable agriculture. More studies would be needed to determine the effects of effective microorganisms’ inoculation on other amaranthus species.