A Preliminary Study on the Difference in Growth of Brassica chinensis L. var. parachinensis Treated with Different Composted Chicken Manure

Abstract

Chicken manure is one of the popular organic fertilizers used in vegetable farming in Malaysia. Chicken manure is divided into two types, namely broiler chicken manure (BCM) and layer chicken manure (LCM). The effectiveness of these chicken manures is often questionable due to the different method of raising broilers and layers. Therefore, the present study was carried out to determine the effect of the broiler and layer chicken manures on the growth of choy sum (Brassica chinensis L. var. parachinensis), a common farmed leafy vegetable in the country. This study was carried out in the Agricultural Park of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Perak Campus), Malaysia from February to May 2019. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) methods were used in this study. The chicken manures were composted for roughly 2 months before the experiment. There was no significant difference in the dry weight, plant height and root length of the choy sum treated with either BCM or LCM. Although the choy sum treated with BCM has a higher fresh weight (177.53 g) as compared to that of LCM (134.64 g), this may be due to the natural fluctuation of water content within the plants. Therefore, the results of the present study show that both the chicken manure has a similar effect on the growth of choy sum. The authors recommend further studies on the chemical composition and optimization of chicken manure application in enhancing the growth and yields of leafy vegetables.

Keywords

• composted chicken manure
• broiler and layer chicken manure
• organic fertilizer
• vegetables