THE USE OF STRUVITE IN AGRICULTURE FOR FOOD SUSTAINABILITY AND CREATION OF CLEAN ENVIRONMENT.

Abstract

This research was conducted as a result of the need to produce more food for the growing population, to create a clean environment by channelling urine properly and for job creation. In this study, the effects of struvite (fertilizer obtained from human urine) and inorganic fertilizers (NPK 20:10:10 and urea) were compared on the growth of Cucurbita maxima (ugbogulu/ anyu). Four treatment groups, which included: control (no application), NPK 20:10:10, urea fertilizer and struvite group were successfully employed. Data on plant growth parameters collected were: plant height, number of leaves, leaf area and stem girth of the plants. Chlorophyll content, vitamin C content and mineral content were also determined according to the method of Arnon, (1949), Klein & 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 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). The struvite group had the highest average final stem girth (2.43±0.12) when compared with other groups. Plants treated with struvite fertilizer had the highest vitamin C content, highest average chlorophyll B content, and highest potassium content. Therefore, it is recommended to use struvite as a cheap source of fertilizer for promoting plant growth and making sanitation systems economically more attractive.