Demonstration Of The Effectiveness Of Struvite (Urine – Based Organic Fertilizer) In Comparison With Npk And Urea (Inorganic Fertilizers) On Cucurbita Maxima

Abstract

This study compared the effects of struvite (a slow-release organic fertilizer) and inorganic fertilizers (NPK 20:10:10 and urea) on the growth of Cucurbita maxima (ugbogulu/anyu). It is targeted to prove that struvite, has positive effect on plants growth; then recommend it as fertilizer with an added advantage in relation to possibly being a great business venture. Here, struvite obtained from human urine was used for growing of the Cucurbita maxima which lasted for a period of four (4) months (December 2023, up to April, 2024). Four treatment groups employed included: control (no application), NPK 20:10:10, urea fertilizer and struvite group. Data on the following plant growth parameters were collected within 3 to 9 weeks after planting which was done third week of January, 2024. These data included: plant height, number of leaves, stem girth (circumference) and leaf area of the plants. Chlorophyll content, vitamin C content and mineral content were also determined according to the method of Arnon (1949), Klein and Perry (1982) and APHA (1995) respectively. The results showed that plants grown with struvite had a higher percentage change in plant height (91%) and the average plant height (cm) in 6-week harvest data was 23.78±1.08. The average number of the leaves in the struvite group was the highest (7.50±0.96), while the average number of the leaves in the urea group was the lowest (4.67±0.43). Struvite group had the highest average final stem girth (2.43±0.12) when compared with other groups (having 2.23±0.16 and 2.18±0.19 for NPK and Urea groups respectively). Also, plants treated with struvite fertilizer had the highest vitamin C content (440.50±10.21), highest average chlorophyll B content (2.21±0.79) and highest potassium content (5.43±2.08). Therefore, it is recommended to use struvite as an alternative to inorganic fertilizers for promoting plant growth, reducing negative environmental impact and making sanitation systems economically more attractive.