In a bid to seek a sustainable solution to hunger and enhance food production in line with sustainable development goals, this research was designed to assess the impact of biochar with poultry manure on cucumber production. Hence, the study evaluated the effect of four levels of poultry manure (PM) (0, 5, 10, and 15 t/ha) and two (2) levels of Neem seed biochar (NSB) (0 and 2 t/ha) on the performance of cucumber (Cucumis sativus Linn.) in the humid tropical soil. The study was a factorial experiment laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and consisted of 8 treatment combinations replicated three times each. The result obtained indicated that the application of biochar and poultry manure alone, or in combination with each other, significantly improved vine length, number of leaves, number of branches, leaf area index, number of fruits plant-1 and yield of cucumber compared with plants from the control plots in two years trial. The yield of cucumber was observed to increase from 10.67 t/ha and 17.87 t/ha in control plots to 21.47 t/ha and 20.13 t/ha in plots amended with 15 t/ha PM + 2 t/ha NSB in 2020 and 2021 cropping year. From the result obtained herein, it can be inferred that the co-application of poultry manure and biochar to cucumber can serve as a sustainable means of producing crops in the tropics.
Key words: Biochar, crop yield, soil fertility, food production, sustainable agriculture
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