Comparative effect of farm yard manure and chemical fertilizer on growth and yield of cabbage in volcanic soils of Northern Rwanda

In Rwanda, cabbages are facing numerous problems including low soil fertility which leads to their low yield. The main objective of this study was to compare the effects of organic manure and mineral fertilizer NPK (17-17-17) on growth and yield of cabbage in volcanic soils of Northern Province of Rwanda. Accordingly, field experiment was established in a randomized complete block design with 5 treatments and 3 replications. These treatments were: T1(control with 5t/ha of FYM +0 kg/ha of NPK17-17-17); T2(5t/ha of FYM + 100kg/ha of NPK17-17-17); T3(5t/ha of FYM+150kg/ha of NPK17-17-17); T4(5t/ha of FYM + 200kg/ha of NPK17-17-17) and T5(5t/ha of FYM + 250kg/ha of NPK17-17-17). The results showed that the concentration of exchangeable K+ increased at the end of the after-field experiment. The soil nitrogen was very high on treatment 5 and high on treatment 4. The results on growth characteristics and yield of the headed cabbages showed that T5, the soil nitrogen content was very high on some treatments and high on other treatments. The results on growth characteristics and yield of the headed cabbages showed that T5 had the highest yield (32.5 t/ha) followed by T4 with 25t/ha. The combination of 5t/ha of farm yard manure and 250kg/ha of NPK 17-17-17 can be adopted by farmers to increase cabbage production in Busogo Soils. Key words: Cabbage, growth, manure, NPK, yield