Impact of fruit wastes and rates on nutritional and phytochemical compositions of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) in Ogbomoso and Oyo town, Oyo state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the effect of fruit waste types and rates on the mineral, nutritional and phytochemical composition of okra at Lautech Teaching and Research Farms of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, and Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo. The treatments involved three waste types namely: cocoa pod, orange and plantain waste and five rates of application: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 kg N/ha. The factorial experiments were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Seeds were sown two weeks after treatments application and agronomic practices such as weeding, thinning, control of pest and diseases were carried out to ensure optimum yield. Data obtained on mineral, nutritional and phytochemical compositions were subjected to the analysis of variance and the means were separated using least significant difference (LSD) at 5% probability level. The result revealed that location, fruit waste type and rate had significant (p≤0.05) effect on the mineral, nutritional and phytochemical compositions of okra. The mineral, nutritional and phytochemical compositions of okra were higher at Ogbomoso than Oyo. Cocoa waste gave highest crude fiber (21.17%), gross energy (283.19kcal), vitamin C (41.16g/100 g) contents as compared to plantain and orange wastes. Application of 75 kg N/ha gave highest calcium, organic matter and crude protein (583.61g/100 g, 88.80% and 23.01%) while control recorded the least. Therefore, sole application of 75 kg N/ha and cocoa pod waste and their combinations can be recommended for optimum mineral, nutritional and phytochemical compositions of okra in both locations.