Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, D: Agriculture and Veterinary, Volume 22 Issue 1

very tender stem which is a cylinder of leaf-petiole sheaths, reaching a height of (6-6.5 m) and arising from a fleshy rhizome or corm. Suckers spring up around the main plant forming a clump or "stool'', the eldest sucker replacing the main plant when it fruits and dies, and this process of succession continues indefinitely. Bananas have a great economic impact in the world as one of the most popular fruits which is high in nutritive value and as cash export (Stone, 2015). Empirical evidence showed that banana peels contain 4.4 – 6.3% dry weight potassium (K) with significant amounts of Calcium, Magnesium and Sodium along with a number of other trace elements accounting for 9/15 of the commonly tested for elements (Hussain et al., 2019)). Banana peels according to Stone, 2015., Doran and Kaya, 2003 contain 42% potassium, making it one of the highest organic sources of potassium, and even higher than wood ash. Crops like tomatoes and peppers, which have a low nitrogen need respond well to banana peel fertilizer (Stone, 2015).The calcium in banana peel helps in N uptake, manganese aiding photosynthesis, the sodium helps in water movement between cells and magnesium and sulfur both helping in the chlorophyll formation. As important as bananas are, many African countries (Nigeria inclusive) after eating the flesh often toss the peels in the garbage. Banana residues being organic in nature are rich source of macro and micronutrient that can be recycled to prevent their disposal in environment, thus sustaining the balance between economic development and environmental protection (Memon et al., 2012). Application of banana waste improves soil structure, texture, aeration, water holding capacity, porosity, increases stress tolerance and productivity of sorghum bicolor (Mawahib et al., 2015) In addition to improving soil health, it also reduces the use of chemical fertilizers (Hussain et al., 2019) thus saving huge amount of foreign exchange incurred for import of fertilizers. c) Maize stalk Maize is cultivated in large quantum in the tropics for food and other uses. Each year, enormous quantity of debris results after harvest especially where maize stalks are not fed to animals or used for sheds and shelters. However, maize stalk has high potential use in organic fertilizer as it contains high content of Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) 370 and 1020 (mg/kg) respectively (Galila et al., 2012). The level of K in maize stalk can be increased by ten folds when fermented with fungi while some other mineral components also increased but by a lesser fold (Galila et al., 2012). However, the continuous removal of maize stalks makes the nutrients in maize stalks unavailable to the soil for crop use. The phosphorous in maize stalk is not easily available for plant use (Woldesenbet and Haileyesus 2016). Decomposition and grinding to reduce organic materials to particle size improve nutrient availability in the soil and uptake by plants as they increase the surface areas of organic materials. Both maize stalk and banana peel do not contain usable nitrogen, hence, serve as perfect combination with Moringa oleifera for nutrient loving crops like maize, hence, Moringa- Banana peel – maize stalk technology has a great potential for cost effective, long- term, sustainable impact in improving maize productivity, soil fertility, structure and income of the resource-poor rural dwellers in Africa. IV. M aterials and M ethods a) Experimental Site The Teaching and Research Farm, Kwara State University, Malete, (08 o 42’48.5’’N and 004 o 26’17.9’’E) Ilorin, Nigeria was used for the experiment. The area is in the southern guinea savanna zone of Nigeria. It has an annual rainfall of about 1200 with a dry spell from December to March. Mean maximum temperature varies between 33 o C and 34 o C. The soil is slightly acidic (PH 6.5), sandy loam, low in organic matter (8.76g/kg) and deficient in nitrogen (0.7g/kg), phosphorus (9.7mg/kg) and potassium (0.41cmol/kg). The site is mainly used for experimentation. b) Materials and Collection The materials for the experiment are; maize seeds, moringa leaves, maize stalks and banana peels and NPK 15-15-15 (control)Maize seeds, variety BR9928 DMR-SR (Yellow, Downy Mildew Streak Resistance) were collected from IITA Ibadan, Moringa leaves and maize stalks were collected from Kwara State University Teaching and Research Farm, Malete while banana peels were obtained from women selling roasted plantain by the road sides. N, P and K for the experiment were sourced from Moringa leaves (MO), maize stalk (MS) and banana peel (BP) respectively. c) Measurement of variables • Maize plot: The area of maize plot was a 3m 2 divided into three replicates laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data were collected on ten plants at the middle. • Number of leaves(NoL): were counted at two, four, six and eight weeks after planting WAP • Plant height(PLTH): was taken from the base of the plant to tip stem at 2, 4,6 WAP and the base of the tassel at 8 WAP using meter rule • Grain yield: This was estimated and expressed in ton/hectare. Potential of Bio-Organic Mix as an Alternative to Inorganic Fertilizer in Maize Production in Africa 1 Year 2022 1 © 2022 Global Journals Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXII Issue ersion I VI ( D )