EFFECTS OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH AND YIELD ...

EFFECTS OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF
MINT (Mentha piperita)
BY
DARAMOLA, OLUMIDE SAMUEL
MATRIC. NUMBER: 06/1595
SUBMITTED IN PATIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF HORTICULTURE
COLLEGE OF PLANT SCIENCE AND CROP PRODUCTION,
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE
JUNE, 2011

CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this study titled “Effect of organic fertilizer on growth and yield of Mint
(Mentha piperita)” carried out by DARAMOLA, Olumide Samuel with Matriculation number
2006/1595 meets the regulation governing the award of Bachelor of Agriculture Science degree
and is approved by the Department of Horticulture, University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria.
Mrs T.T Joseph - Adekunle
Date
SUPERVISOR
Prof. J. G. Bodunde
Date
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

DECLARATION
I hereby, declare that this project was written by me and it is a record of my own research work.
It has not been presented in any previous application for degree of this or any other University.
All citations and sources of information are acknowledged by means of references.
_________________________
DARAMOLA Olumide Samuel
_____________________
Date

DEDICATION
This work is humbly dedicated to God Almighty who has always shown mercy unto me, all my
benefactors and to all servants of God called to live and serve by faith, known or unknown, seen
or unseen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to my caring and loving parents Evangelist A.O and Mrs. V.F. Daramola, who
have proved to be virtuous in giving to me their unrelenting financial, moral and spiritual
supports throughout my academic programme in the University.
My profound gratitude also goes to my supervisor, Mrs T.T Joseph-Adekunle for her love
and motherly care to me from the commencement of the programme to its completion.
I also appreciate the unflinching support of the Head of department Prof. J.G. Bodunde and
all the lecturers of the Department of Horticulture Dr M.O Okelana, Dr. A. W. Salau, Dr. L .A
Hammed, Dr. Makinde, DR. Olubode, Mr. M.O Olosunde and Dr. Mrs P.M Olorunmaye, from
the Department of Plant Physiology and Crop Production, who have contributed towards the
successful completion of my study from the department. I also appreciate the assistance of Dr.
(Mrs) Bodunde (GREEC)
Special thanks to my friends especially Popoola, Ibukun Olukorede, Bayo, Tolani, Debo,
Temiloluwa, Tola, Taiwo Muyiwa, Funmibi, Hannah, Hellen.
Finally my heartfelt gratitude goes to my siblings, Esther, Tosin and Tope for their love,
support and care.
May God bless you all.

ABSTRACT
A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effect of Tithonia compost and
Organomineral-fertilizers on the growth and yield of Mint (Mentha piperita). Mint vine cuttings
of 3cm were planted into 5kg soil with 1kg, 2kg Tithonia and 250g, 500g Organomineralfertilizers
application respectively. Application of organomineral fertilizer and tithonia compost
significantly enhanced vegetative growth parameters, the fresh as well as dry weight of Mint.
The effect was maximal with the application of 500g organomineral fertilizer with respect to the
number of leaves, number of tendrils and the dry weight as compared with other application
rates. However, application of 2kg tithonia enhanced vine growth better compared to other
treatments. Similar trend was also obtained for the yield/ biomass production of Mentha piperita.
Application of 1kg, 2kg tithonia compost and 250g, 500g, organomineral fertilizer gave a better
biomass yield as compared with the control. However, Application of 250g and 500g of
organomineral fertilizer produced the same response with respect to dry weight as there was no
significant difference between the two application rates.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
Mentha is a genus of aromatic perennial herbs belonging to the family Lamiaceae, of over 200
genera distributed mostly in temperate and sub-temperate regions of the world. The number of
taxonomically valid species in the genus remains a matter of speculation as members freely cross
amongst themselves, producing many intermediary forms(Hedge, 1992, Dorman etal 2003).
Most of the commercially important mints are hybrids. Mentha piperita, the peppermint, is a
sterile first generation hybrid between M. spicata and M. aquatica (Hefendehl and Murray,
1972).
Several mints of species are industrial crops, a source of essential oils enriched in certain
monoterpenes that are widely used in food, flavour, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
Also different species of mint are used across the globe for their medicinal and culinary
properties. Mint is usually taken after a meal for its ability to reduce indigestion and colonic
spasms by reducing the gastrocholic reflux. Less well recognized is peppermint’s potential role
in the management of numerous medical problems, including colonoscopy (Spirling and
Daniels,2001). Peppermint oil is the major constituent of several over the counter remedies for
symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Results of clinical trials indicated that it could be
efficacious for relief in IBS (Pittler and Ernst, 1998)
The genus Mentha has a large number of species that differ widely in their characteristics and
ploidy level. Since they are often perennial and produce suckers, Mentha species reproduce both

y reproductive and vegetative means. However, the purity of cultivars is maintained by
vegetative means of propagule generation. Mint species are widely distributed and are prone to
attack by a variety of diseases and pests.
Plate 1
Mint plant (pineapple mint)

Plate 2 Mint plant (Mentha piperita)

Plate 3 Mint plant (Spear mint)

Plate 4 Chocolate Mint in the garden

1.3 Important Mint species
Commercially, the most important mint species are peppermint (M. piperita), spearmint (M.
spicata), and corn mint (M. canadensis.). From these species, corn mint is cultivated only
because of oil production (Small 1997, Oudhia 2003). Peppermint (M. piperita.) oil is one of the
most popular and widely used essential oils, mostly because of its main components menthol and
menthone (Gul 1994). Corn mint is the richest source of natural menthol (Sharma & Tyagi 1991,
Shasany et al. 2000). Peppermint oil is used for flavouring pharmaceuticals and oral
preparations, such as toothpastes, dental creams, and mouth washes. It is also used as a
flavouring agent in cough drops, chewing gums, confectionery and alcoholic liqueurs. It is used
in medicines for internal use. Its pleasant taste makes it an excellent gastric stimulant (Budavari
et al. 1989, Gupta 1991).
1.4 Uses of Mint species
Peppermint oil is used for flavouring pharmaceuticals and oral preparations, such as toothpastes,
dental creams, and mouth washes. It is also used as a flavouring agent in cough drops, chewing
gums, confectionery and alcoholic liqueurs. It is used in medicines for internal use. Its pleasant
taste makes it an excellent gastric stimulant (Budavari et al. 1989, Gupta 1991). Mint leaf, fresh
or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when
storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet
flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and
ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine, mint is used on lamb dishes, while in British cuisine and

American cuisine, mint sauce and mint jelly are used, respectively. Mint is a necessary
ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries. Alcoholic drinks
sometimes feature mint for flavor or garnish.
The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol (the main
aroma of Peppermint and Japanese Peppermint) and pulegone (in Pennyroyal and Corsican
Mint). The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is R-carvone.
Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Buff Ermine.
Other important uses of Mint include
Medicinal and cosmetic
Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains, and it is
commonly used in the form of tea as a home remedy to help alleviate stomach pain. During the
Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth. Mint tea is a strong diuretic.
Menthol from mint essential oil (40%–90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some
perfumes. Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of
many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy. Menthol is also used in cigarettes as an
additive, because it blocks out the bitter taste of tobacco and soothes the throat. The strong, sharp
flavor and scent of mint is sometimes used as a mild decongestant for illnesses such as the
common cold. In Rome, Pliny recommended that a wreath of mint was a good thing for students
to wear since it was thought to "exhilarate their minds".

Insecticides
Mint leaves are often used by many campers to repel mosquitoes. It is also said that extracts from
mint leaves have a particular mosquito-killing capability. Mint plants planted near doorways help
drive ants away. Mint oil is also used as an environmentally-friendly insecticide for its ability to
kill some common pests like wasps, hornets, ants and cockroaches.
Aromatherapy
Known in Greek Mythology as the herb of hospitality, one of the first known uses for mint in
Europe was as a room deodorizer. The herb was strewn across floors to cover the smell of the
hard-packed soil. Stepping on the mint helped to spread its scent through the room. Today, it is
more commonly used for aromatherapy through the use of essential oils.
1.4 Justification
Though Mint is a temperate crop, some species have been found to be adaptable to the tropical
environment. The inherent uses could however be exploited in tropical environment, hence the
study was conducted to access the effect of organic fertilizer which is readily available, cost
effective and environmentally safe on the growth and yield of Mint.
1.5 Objectives
To evaluate the effect of organic fertilizers on the growth of Mint
To access the effect of organic fertilizer rates on herbage yield of Mint

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Origin and distribution of mint species
Mint descends from the Latin word mentha, which is rooted in the Greek word minthe,
personified in Greek mythology as Minthe, a nymph which was transformed into a mint plant.
The word itself probably derives from a now extinct pre-Greek language. In Central and South
America, mint is known as hierbabuena (literally, "good herb"). In Lusophone countries,
especially in Portugal, mint species are popularly known as Hortelã. In many Indo-Aryan
languages, it is called Pudīna. The taxonomic family Lamiaceae is known as the mint family. It
includes many other aromatic herbs, including most of the more common cooking herbs,
including basil, rosemary, sage, oregano, and catnip.
The genus Mentha (Laminaceae) is composed of 19 geographically widespread species and 13
named hybrids (Chambers & Hummer 1994). Peppermint, M. x piperita, is native to Europe and
it has become both cultivated and naturalised in the USA, India, China, the former USSR, Italy,
France and Hungary. Its essential oil is considered industrially important (Lawrence 1985,
Tucker 1992).

Mentha is distributed mostly in temperate and sub-temperate regions of the world. The number
of taxonomically valid species in the genus remains a matter of speculation as members freely
cross amongst themselves, producing many intermediary forms. Polyploidy has also played an
important role in the process of speciation in this genus. Most of the commercially important
mints are hybrids or amphiploids. M. piperita, the peppermint, is a sterile first generation hybrid
between M. spicata and M. aquatica (Hefendehl and Murray, 1972).
Mint cultivation is widely distributed. The United States of America is the main producer of
peppermint and spearmint oils. The peppermint (M. piperita) is cultivated on a large scale in the
states of Oregan, Indiana, Idaho, Ohio and Michigan (Chambers and Hummer, 1992), 12 Bhat et
al. whereas spearmint cultivation is localized in Indiana and Michigan. Spearmint is also
cultivated in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Russia, South
Africa, Thailand and Vietnam. Bergamot mint is commercially cultivated in China, Taiwan and
India, and menthol or Japanese mint in India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Brazil.
2.1 Mint essential oil compositions
Mints are cultivated for their essential oils, yielded by distillation of over-ground herbaceous
foliage. The oil contains a large variety of aromatic chemicals in varying composition. The oils
and their fractions are in great demand world-wide. Peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) oil is one
of the most popular and widely used essential oils, mostly because of its main components
menthol and menthone. flavouring. mint is the richest source of natural menthol (Sharma &
Tyagi 1991, Shasany et al. 2000). Carvone-scented mint plants, such as spearmint (M. spicata),

are rich in carvone and are widely used as spices and cultivated in several countries (Kokkini et
al. 1995).
2.3 Cultivation
Mints are mainly propagated vegetatively rather than by seeds. Only some mints, such as M.
arvensis L., M. pulegonium L. and M. spicata L., are propagated by seed (Galambosi 1995).
There are many reasons for the vegetative propagation of mint. According to Hornok (1992), the
peppermint as a hybrid seldom produces seeds able to germinate. For this reason, propagation is
used exclusively with vegetative parts such as green shoots, underground stolons and rooty
turions. In cutting propagation, 10–15 cm long shoots are cut from the mother plant and lower
leaves are removed. The shoots are planted in a growth medium consisting of a mixture of
sterilized sand and peat. Critical factors are humidity and relative humidity of 95–98% for 2–4
weeks. The temperature should be kept at 25–30o C. When the plants are rooted, they are ready
for transfer outdoors (Galambosi 1995). The expenses and labour involved in, the cutting method
of propagation make it unpopular for extensive cultivation (Hornok 1992). In cutting propagation
during spring, the yield was 20–30% less than that in traditional propagation by underground
stolons, though cutting propagation was more economical (Földesi & Havas 1979). When the
apical stem (the apical 5 nodes of aerial stem), basal stem (the basal 5 nodes of aerial stem),
sprouted stem (midstem carrying new auxiliary buds), green stolon (growing parallel to the soil
surface) and etiolated rhizome (growing below the soil surface) were employed as the source of
single-node cuttings, maximum rooting percentage was obtained using etiolated rhizome,
followed by green stolons (EL-Keltawi & Croteau 1986). Propagation with green cuttings cannot

e utilized in the case of large-scale cultivation due to high costs and a high demand for manual
labour (Hornok 1992). The propagation material, mostly used in the multiplication of
peppermint, consists of stolons grown in the soil (white) or on the surface (green) or from 8–10-
cm high turions developed from underground stolons (Hornok 1992). The satisfactory
development of stolons during intensive cultivation is hindered by several known and unknown
factors. The mass of roots increases with the age of the plant but the quantity of the liveable
stolons decreases (Zambori & Tetenyi 1988). Propagation by stolons is the most popular method
of mint propagation because it is the most economic. The mother plants are raised for the
propagation material and then they are chopped, spread and covered with soil. In practice, this
method succeeds in areas with long summers and in soil free of weeds, meaning that the use of
herbicides is necessary. If propagation is carried out at the beginning of summer, only surface
stolons (white) are used. The best size is 10–15 cm and best growth takes place in rows at a
width and depth of 10 cm (1999 a). However, Pank (1974) noticed that chopping stolons before
sowing significantly reduced the yield in comparison to 10–20 cm long stolons. The best result
was obtained when the stolons were separated and divided in to pieces by hand from the roots.
Nemeth & Pham (1995) studied the growth and development of the vegetative propagation
organs (the stolons), and concluded that the stolon number is depended on the species and in all
examined species the main of stolon branching occurs at the end of flowering.
2.4 Soil pH and soil nutrients
Cultivation techniques have a great influence on plant growth (biomass production) and the
quality and quantity of secondary metabolites. Soil pH is an important chemical property that

profoundly affects the growth and nutrient uptake by crops (Fageria & Baligar 1999). According
to Vander Wat et al., 1991, high acidity and low calcium severely impaired plant-root
development. Lime can raise the pH of acidic soils (Tan 1994). Liming can have many other
effects on the biochemical processes in the soil and on the yield and composition of different
plant species and varieties (Stevens and Laughlin 1996). Soil pH affects the availability of
several mineral nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium,
magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc and molybdenum, and all of these nutrients are
available in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5 (Taiz & Zeiger, 1998). Loss of plant available phosphate
in soils occurs by phosphate fixation, which is especially strong in acid mineral soils. Such losses
can be dramatically reduced by liming soils to a pH of 6–7 (Konrad 1997). Different levels of
soil Ph influenced the fresh and dry weight and the essential oil yield of peppermint (Shukla et
al. 1997, 1998).
Most authors report that significantly higher dry matter and essential oil yields for corn mint,
peppermint and spearmint were obtained with higher nitrogen application but that the application
of nitrogen did not affect the chemical composition of the essential oil (Atanasov et al. 1979,
Clark & Menary 1980 b, Slavov 1985, Singh et al. 1989, Saxena & Singh 1995). Other authors
have reported that a decrease in menthol and an increase in menthone and menthyl acetate in
peppermint and corn mint has been found with increased application of N (Duhan et al. 1977,
Duhan 1979, Hornok 1983). According to Kothari & Singh (1995), carvone and limonene
concentrations in Scotch spearmint (M. gracilis) were affected by levels of N, and in general, an
increase of N decreased carvone but increased limonene in oil. This is not quite in agreement
with Singh & Singh (1986) who reported that the application of N increased carvone in

spearmint oil. Marotti and co-authors (1994) used different levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in
peppermint trials. They reported that mineral fertilization seemed to increase the menthol content
of essential oil compared with untreated plants. Hornok (1974), in an experiment with
peppermint fertilization, stated that the most effect on yield was achieved first by the level of
nitrogen and second by the level of calcium. Phosphorus fertilization had no effect on yield.
However, a high quality of peppermint oil in any region requires the optimum use of fertilizer
and water to maintain herbage growth and delay maturity as long as possible so that the herbage
may be harvested with a minimum of flowers (Murray et al. 1988)
2.5 Harvesting time
Amount and composition of essential oil is strongly dependent on developmental stage of the
plant (ontogeny), and therefore harvesting time is one of the most important factors influencing
mint oil quality.
Harvesting a crop early or late resulted in a low yield of leaves as well as the essential oil content
because at an earlier or later stage of harvesting, the crop was immature or over mature resulting
in a poor yield of herb and oil content (Shah & Gupta 1989). According to Chalchat and coauthors
(1997), harvesting should be carried out after flowering to obtain oil that contains a high
amount of menthol. Ulseth (1994) found that the poorest oil quality was obtained from mints that
were in a stage of early blooming or were not yet blooming at all. Oil content in stems was very
poor and present only in younger parts (Croteau & Gershenon 1994). According to Clark and
Menary (1984), besides the timing of harvest, the numbers of harvests per year greatly influence
yield, and composition of oil. The essential oil from the first harvest was richer in menthol than

that of the second harvest. In the second harvest all the leaves were young with a higher
menthone and lower menthol content (Saxena & Singh 1995). Similarly, Court and co-authors
(1993) found that the amount of menthol increased as the plant matured. According to Ram and
Kumar (1999), there was a difference between the yield and quality of essential oil in seven mint
cultivars in the first and the second harvest. For corn mint, the maximum oil content was reached
during the flowering period; however, high temperature was found to decrease the oil yield
(Duriyaprapan et al. 1986). According to Ram and Kumar (1999), the oil content of the first or
second harvest of M. arvensis depends on the variety. The concentration of carvone in Scotch
spearmint was higher in oil of the first harvest compared with the second harvest (Kothari &
Singh 1995). There is a remarkable difference in oil composition between leaves at different age,
especially juvenile and mature leaves (Duriyaprapan & Britten 1982). A greater proportion of oil
is obtained from the leaves, especially from leaves at the upper part of the plant canopy, but not
at the top because leaves at the age of 0–2 weeks contributed 16% of leaf dry matter compared
with 27% of oil yield. This may explain why the maximum essential oil production of mint
plants is attained during the flowering period when almost no top growth occurs. The
intermediate and lower leaves reached their highest essential oil content at approximately the
time when plants were starting to bloom. The upper leaf pairs completed their development after
floral initiation (Burbott & Loomis 1967). According to Voirin and co-authors (1990), the young
(apical) leaves of peppermint mainly contained menthofuran, pulegone and menthone. Menthol
increased rapidly while menthone decreased in the older leaves. Menthone was higher in the
young leaves and menthol appeared as the main component of the oldest leaf.

CHAPTER THREE
MATERIALS AND METHOD
3.0 Experimental location
The experiment was conducted at the Fadama end of Organic Skill Demonstration Plot
University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun state during the 2011 dry season.
3.1 Materials
Mint vines (obtained from FADAMA 2 vegetable growers in Iba Lasu Lagos State.), 15 pieces
of 40cm diameter perforated bowls, topsoil, Tithonia compost from Organic farm and
Organomineral fertilizer from Sunshine Organic Company Akure.
3.2 Methods
Soil and fertilizer analyses were carried out to determine the physical chemical properties Thirty
Core samples soil were taken from 0 -30 cm depth buked together, and representative sample
taken for analysis. Samples of both the Orgarnomineral and tithonia based compost fertilizer
were also analysed. The Mint vines were cut into bits of of 3cm, the pots were filled with 5kg
sieved soil and the fertilizers at the different rates homogenized with it. The mixture was watered
and allowed to stabilize for about a week. The cuttings were then planted into pots (40 cm in
diameter) and watered and growth and yield were monitored for 14 weeks. Fresh herbage yield
and dry weight were determined at the end of the 14 weeks. After the harvest, the fresh herbage

yield was weighed and oven - dried (at 65 0 C) for 72hour. The dry matter weight determination
was done using the sensitive weigh scale.
3.3 Experimental design
The experimental design was Completely Randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The
treatments were 1kg, 2kg of Tithonia compost fertilizer and 250g, 500g of Organomineral
fertilizer and control.
3.4 Data collection and Statistical analysis
The parameters assessed weekly were the number of leaves, the number of tendrils (by count)
and the vine length using tape measure. Data collection started 4 weeks after planting.
Data collected were subjected to analyses of variance (ANOVA) and the separations of the
significant treatment means were done using the least significance difference at (LSD) at 5%
level.

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The experiment was conducted on a loamy sand soil with pH 6.80 containing N 0.45%, K
0.75%, Ca 8.78Cmol, Mg 2.62Cmol, Na 0.06 Cmol .
The Organomineral fertilizer and tithonia compost had pH of 8.10 and 6.30 respectively.
N(2.66%), (0.61%) respectively. The Organomineral fertilizer also contain P(2.19%), k(1.34%),
Ca(2.14%), Na(0.15%), Mg(1.07%), Organic carbon (47.00%), Fe(0.49%), Zn(247.00mg/l),
Mn(428.5mg/l), Cu(93.75mg/l) and SO4(1.27mg/l) e.t.c (Table 1)

Table 1: Soil and fertilizer physical and chemical properties
Nutrient Soil Tithonia Organomineral
N (%) 0.45 0.61 2.66
A.P (mg/kg) 39.00 69.00 2.19%
K (Cmol) 0.05 0.19 1.34%
Particle size (%)
Sand 7.75 85.50
Silt 19.20 11.70
Clay 2.80 2.80
Base Saturation (%) 99.05 99.85
Micro-nutrient
Cu(mg/kg) 0.38 0.58 93.75
Zn(mg/kg) 0.13 4.48 24.7
Fe(mg/kg) 3.30 0.98 0.49
Mn (mg/kg) 5.00 12.6 428.5
pH(mg/kg) 6.80 6.30 8.10
CEC(Cmol) 11.61 8.26

4.0 Number of leaves
Number of leaves increased with age from 4WAP to 10WAP. Application of 500g
organomineral fertilizer gave the highest number of leaves, which was significantly different
from application of 250g organomineral fertilizer (p≤0.05). Similarly, application of 2kg tithonia
was significantly different from application of 1kg tithonia. There was no significant difference
between the application of 2kg tithonia compost and 250g organomineral fertilizer (Table 2)
4.1 Vine length
Vine length increased from 4WAP to 10WAP. Application of 250g organomineral fertilizer gave
the longest mean vine length. There was no significant difference between the application of
250g orgarnomineral and 500g organomineral on the mean vine length (p≤0.05). Conversely,
there was significant difference between application of 1kg and 2kg tithonia base compost.
However, there was no significant difference between all the rates of application between 7WAP
and 9WAP until the 10WAP (p≤0.05) (Table 3)
4.2 Number of tendrils
Application of 500g organomineral fertilizer gave the highest number of tendrils, but was not
significantly different from application of 2kg tithonia fertilizer (p≤0.05). Application of 250g
organomineral gave a significantly higher difference from application of 1kg tithonia. However,
there was no ssignificant difference between application of 1kg tithonia and the control (p≤0.05).
(Table 4)

4.3 Fresh weight
Application of 500g organomineral gave the highest biomass yield, which was significantly
different from application of 250g organomineral fertilizer (p≤0.05). Conversely, there was no
significant difference between the application of 500g organomineral and 2kg tithonia base
compost fertilizer. However, all fertilizer application rates were significantly different from the
control (p≤0.05) (Table 5)
4.4 Dry weight
Application of 500g and 250g organomineral did not differ significantly with respect to dry
weight. (p≤0.05). Similarly, There was no significant difference between the application of 1kg
and 2kg tithonia base compost fertilizer. However, all application rates were significantly
different from the control experiment (p≤0.05) (Table 6)

Table 2: Effect of organic fertilizer on the number of leaves of mint (Mentha piperita)
Treatments/pot 4WAP 5WAP 6WAP 7WAP 8WAP 9WAP 10WAP
Control 74.3 a 88.0 ab 148.3 c 170.6 c 187.3 b 203.0 b 215.3 c
1kg T 39.0 b 61.0 b 167.3b c 203.3 bc 223.3 b 247.6 b 268. 6bc
2kg T 82.3 a 121.6 a 248.0 a 308.6 ab 403.3 a 422.3 a 422.6 a
250g OMR 96.3 a 131.3 a 218.3 ab 270.6 ab 392.6 a 319.6 ab 356.3 ab
500g OMR 88.0 a 116.3 a 148.3 c 283.3 a 392.6 a 413.3 a 438.3 ac
Means in the column with different letters are significantly different (p≤0.05).

Table 3: Effect of organic fertilizers on vine length of Mint (Mentha piperita)
Treatments/pot 4WAP 5WAP 6WAP 7WAP 8WAP 9WAP 10WAP
Control 74.3 a 88.0 ab 148.3 c 170.6 c 187.3 b 203.0 b 215.3 c
1kg T 39.0 b 61.0 b 167.3 bc 203.3 bc 223.3 b 247.6 b 268.6 bc
2kg T 82.3 a 121.6 a 248.0 a 308.6 ab 403.3 a 422.3 a 422.6 a
250g OMR 96.3 a 131.3 a 218.3 ab 270.6 ab 392.6 a 319.6 ab 356.3 ab
500g OMR 88.0 a 116.3 a 148.3 c 283.3 a 392.6 a 413.3 a 438.3 ac
Means in the column with different letters are significantly different (p≤0.05).

Table 4: Effect of organic fertilizer on numbers of tendrils of Mint (Mentha piperita)
Treatments/pot 4WAP 5WAP 6WAP 7WAP
8WAP 9WAP 10WAP
Control 5.0 a 9.3 b 13.3 b 24.6 b 27.6 b 33.0 b 35.6 b
Tithonia (1kg) 3.6 a 6.3 c 15.0 b 25.0 b 32.0 b 33.0 b 36.0 b
Tithonia(2kg) 5.3 a 9.6 b 18.3 ab 31.3 a 35.3 ab 37.3 ab 41.3 ab
OMR(250g) 6.0 a 13.0 a 24.0 a 43.6 a 48.0 a 52.0 a 55.3 a
OMR(500g) 5.6 a 10.0 b 20.3 ab 31.3 ab 38.0 a 44.3 ab 47.6 ab
Means in the column with different letters are significantly different (p≤0.05).

Table 5: Effect of organic fertilizer on biomass yield of Mint (Mentha piperita)
Treatment/pot
Fresh weight(g)
Control
59.6 c
Tithonia compost 1kg
67.6 ab
Tithonia compost 2kg
71.6 a
Organomineral 250g
66.3 b
Organomineral 500g
68.6 a
Means in the column with different letters are significantly different (p≤0.05).

Table 6:
Effect of organic fertilizer on dry weight of Mint (Mentha piperita)
Treatment
dry weight(g)
Control
16.3 b
Tithonia compost (1kg/pot)
18.6 ab
Tithonia compost (2kg/pot)
18.6 ab
Organomineral (250g/pot)
20.6 a
Organomineral (500g/pot)
19.6 a
Means in the column with different letters are significantly different (p≤0.05).

4.7 Discussion
Mint plants are one of the most interesting research plants; they are between medicinal and
aromatic plants. There is a numerous research on mint, however, only few reports are available
on local environmental conditions (Aflatuni et al. 1999 a). Several mint species, origins and
cultivars are cultivated around the world, but in this study only Mentha piperita..
Many studies have reported the increase of yield with liming (Shukla et al. 1997, 1998, Ernani et
al. 2002). In which the highest yield was achieved after the third year of liming with the liming
of 4 or 8 t ha-1 (soil pH 6–6.5) in fine sand .The average yield for three years shows that liming
with 4 t ha-1 gave almost the same yield as with 8 and 12 t ha-1.
Matusiewicz (1972) studied peppermint of the Mitcham variety in five combinations of soil pH,
ranging from 4.7 to 6.9 for 3 years. He concluded that the plants developed best and gave the
highest crop of plant material at soil pH ranging from 5.6 to 6.2. However this study shows the
effect of organic fertilizers on the growth and yield of Mintha piperita on soil of pH 6.8. From
this study it was observed that Application of organic fertilizers such as organomineral and
tithonia base compost fertilizer increased the growth parametars of Mint ( Mentha piperita) in
terms of number of leaves, vine length, number of tendrils, as well as the fresh and dry weight.
Such promoting effect was maximal with the application of 500g organomineral fertilizer with
respect to the number of leaves, number of tendrils and the dry weight as compared with other
application rates. Similarly, application of 2kg tithonia base compost fertilizer gave the highest
effect with respect to vine length. Thus the application of 500g organomineral fertilizer result in
positive impact on the biomass production of Mentha piperita. 1kg tithonia base compost and

250g organomineral fertilizer gave a better biomass yield as compared with the control
experiment. Application of 250g and 500g of organomineral fertilizer produced the same
response with respect to dry weight as there was no significant difference between the two
application rates.

CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Incorporation of tithonia base compost fertilizer at 1kg and 2kg rates per pot, orgarnomineral
fertilizer at 250g and 500g rates per pot have beneficial effects on plant growth, biomass yield
and dry matter yield. The increase was more pronounced at 2kg rate of tithonia and 500g
organomineral fertilizer which was not significantly different from each other with respect to the
biomass yield. The effect was less marked with 1kg and 250g of tithonia and organomineral
fertilizer respectively.
Application of organomineral fertilizer at 250g/pot did not differ significantly from those of
500g/pot with respect to dry matter yield. Therefore 250g/pot is considered as the optimum rate
for mint production in pot. However, this application is significantly better than application of
tithonia compost at 2kg/pot. Such rate of application is therefore recommended for dry matter
yield of mint in pot.

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