Abstract
The general objective of this study was to evaluateresponse of selected watermelon growth and yield attributes to pig manure in Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria. Specifically, it determined response of watermelon to four rates of pig manure in terms of number of leaves produced per plant, vine length per plant, number of fruits harvested per plant and weight of fruits harvested per plant. The field experiments were conducted in 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons in the Teaching and Research Farm, Agricultural Science Department, Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. The investigation was carried out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Treatments were composed of pig manure rates of 0, 5, 10, 15 tons per hectare. Parameters studied were number of leaves per plant, vine length per plant, number of fruits harvested per plant and weight of harvested fruits per plant. Data were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test and significant treatment means were separated using Least Significant Difference (LSD) protocol. Results obtained from the two experiments conducted show plants that received application of pig manure at the rate of 15 tons per hectare were outstanding in terms of vine length at 4weeks after planting (79.96 cm in 2020 and 58.93cm in 2021 ), 6 weeks after planting ( 162.46cm in 2020 and 89.73cm in 2021 ) and 8 weeks after planting (201.36cm in 2020 and 187.06 cm), number of leaves at 4 weeks after planting(25.50 in 2020 and 33.96 in 2021), 6 weeks after planting (28.50 in 2020 and 39.63 in 2021), 8 weeks after planting (31.10 in 2020 and 42.96 in 2021), number of fruits ( 4 fruits/plant in 2020 and 6 fruits/plant) as well as fruit weight(10kg in 2020 and 8kg in 2021) and is therefore to recommended for watermelon cultivation in Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria.