THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FERTILIZERS ON THE GERMINATION AND GROWTH OF ACACIA NILOTICA IN MAIDUGURI, SEMI-ARID ZONE

ABSTRACT The study determines the leave number to determine the biomass of the seedlings to also measure the shot height, root lengths, leaves and root biomass. The materials used were seeds, polythene bags, different fertilizer types: Cow dung, sheep droppings, chicken droppings, NPK, Interactive (cow dung and NPK, River sand collected from river Ngada, top soil collected at a depth of 15cm., plastic ruler graduated in cm, EX320 electric balance in grams, Sulphuric acid 100ml collected in the laboratory, hot water, watering can and normal water. The seed of Acacia Nilotica were collected from Prof. Emeritus williams Richard plantation university of Maiduguri the seed were selected by hand, using person judgment as natural selection and later weighted in university of Maiduguri science laboratory on G & G electronic scales for sorting out different mass, The germination percentage was determined by counting the number of seeds that germinated divided by the number of seed that was sown. The heights of the seedlings were measured on a weekly interval using a plastic ruler graduated in cm, the average height of the seedlings in each group was calculated and the mean obtained, the effects of different types of fertilizer on the growth of A. nilotica was assessed and evaluated to identified the best in growth performances. The growth rate was analyzed using ANOVA if there were significance differences between the mean of the growth of the seedlings treated with different fertilizers. The results show the effects of fertilizer on germination and the above and below ground morphological features of A. nilotica. Therefore, the result of this finding is presented on table showing the percentage rate of germination of Acacia nilotica treated with different types of fertilizer. Based on findings the study conclude that organic fertilizers, such as compost and manure, provided a slower but sustained release of nutrient, leading to higher overall germination rate and inorganic fertilizers while providing immediate nutrient availability sometimes led to quicker initial growth but did not sustain it over a longer period compared to organic options. Therefore, the study recommends that use of organic fertilizers such as chicken dropping to enhance soil health and ensure sustainable plant growth and regular soil testing should be conducted to monitor soil health and nutrient levels, allowing for tailored fertilizer applications that meet specific soil and crop needs.