Effects of Different Level of Cow Dung and N P K Fertilizer on the Growth and Yield of Watermelon (Citrillus lanatus L.) in Gombe State, Nigeria

A field experiment was conducted at Deba, Yamaltu Deba local government, Gombe state during the 2012 rainy season, to evaluate the effects of different levels of cow dung manure and N P K fertilizer on the growth and yield of Watermelon (Citrillus lanatus L). The treatments consisted of four levels of N P K fertilizer (0, 100, 150 and 200 kg/ha),four levels of cow dung (2.5,5, 7.5 and 10 t/ha) and a combination of cow dung 1.25 t + 50 kg NPK, cow dung 2.5 t + 75 kg NPK and cow dung 3.75 + 100 kg NPK/ha. All the treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design (R C B D) with three replications. The parameters observed were plant height, number of leaves, number of male and female flowers, number of fruits per plant and weight of fruits at harvest. The result of the experiment showed that, application of cow dung at a rate of 1.25 t + 50 kg NPK/ha significantly (P=0.05) increased plant height, number of leaves, number of flowers and weight of fruits per plant. It was further observed that, application of cow dung at the rate of 10 t/ha, and a combination of 1.25 t + 50 kg NPK and 2.5 t + 75 kg NPK/ha gave statistically the same result and were found to produced the highest yield than the other treatments used. Therefore, based on this result, the applications of cow dung in combination with NPK fertilizer at a rate of 1.25 t + 50 kg/ha, is recommended for profitable production of watermelon in the study area.