Influence of poultry manure application on vitamin content, proximate and chemical properties of moringa (Moringa oleifera lam) leaves

The study was carried out in the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria Nsukka, to determine the influence of poultry manure application on the vitamin content, proximate and chemical properties of leaves of Moringa oleifera plants. The levels of poultry manure used were 0 tonne/ha, 5 tonnes/ha and 10 tonnes/ha respectively. The moringa seeds used were collected from three locations of Nigeria i.e Nsukka (Enugu State), Dutse (Jigawa State) and Jos (Plateau State). The experiment was a 3 x 3 factorial trial in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The poultry manure levels did not show any significant differences (p>0.05) in the proximate properties (% ash, % crude protein, % fat, % crude fibre and % carbohydrate), chemical properties (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper) and some vitamin contents (vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, and C). Succulent leaves had higher values of the proximate properties except carbohydrate, vitamins (except vitamin B2) and chemical properties except copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). There were no significant effects (p>0.05) of the seed sources on the proximate properties of the leaves, vitamin content except vitamin A and chemical compositions except phosphorus (P) and copper (Cu).