Performance of common bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris l.) in response to cattle manure and foliar sprays of blackjack (Bidens Pilosa l.) and comfrey (Symphytum Officinale l.) extracts

Abstract

Common bean (Phaseol us vulgaris L.) is important legume crop for food and nutritional security in Kenya. Low yields are obtained in small holder fanns, and this is majorly because of declining soil fertility. The use of inorganic fertilizer to replenish lost nutrients is limited because of rising costs. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cattle manure combined with foliar sprays of blackjack (Bi dens pilosa L.) and comfrey (S/n"phytum Offi Ci naleL.) extracts on nutrient uptake, growth, yield and nutritional quality of common bean. A 4 x 6 factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replicates, was conducted in Egerton university’s research Field 7. There were four fertilizer levels: cattle manure, applied at 0, 5, 10 t ha'l, and NPK (27-27-27) fertilizer applied as a positive control at rate of 148.15 kg ha". Six foliar spray treatments were used: no spray (control), comfrey spray applied once (Cl) or twice weekly (C2), blackjack spray applied once (B1) or twice (B2) weekly and commercial Easy Grow spray (EG) (positive control), applied every 14 days at the rate of 3 kg ha'l. The experiment was repeated two times consecutively, from June 2024 to December 2024. Soil samples were collected before the experiment was set up for analysis texture, moisture content, N, P, K, OC, pH and CEC. Plant tissue were collected at Rl(flowering stage) for analysis of nutrient uptake. Data on growth which included height, number of branches, biomass, pod number, days to flowering and days to pod set were collected. Data on yield parameters, such as harvest index, hundred seed weight, yield per ha'1, and protein content in seeds were collected at harvest. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to ascertain the normality of data. Analysis of variance was performed using Proc GLM in Statistical Analysis Software (SAS). Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference was used to compare the means at p<0.05. Treatment M2 (10 t ha") of manure produced plant tissues with high N content of 24.87% while the control (M0) had the lowest, 19.37%. For foliar spray, F0 (no foliar spray) produced plant tissues with lowest N content, 19.29% but B2 (Black jack twice a week) had the highest N, 23.95%. In addition, M2 produced highest yield (1652.31 kg ha" 1) compared to the control (M0) which had the lowest yield 1016.05 kg/ha’1. For foliar sprays, C2 (comfrey twice a week) produced the highest yield (1669.77kg ha") while no foliar spray (F0) had the lowest yield (1041.04 kg ha”). The combination of M2 and C2 produced the maximum yield (237388 kg ha"), which can be recommended for common bean production.