Leaf area Herbage yield Nut yield Crop performance Soil fertility Sustainable agriculture University of Benin Benin City

The experiment was conducted at the Crop Science Research Farm in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City. Seeds were obtained locally from Ekosodin, Benin City, Nigeria. Poultry manure was obtained from University of Benin Farm project, while NPK fertilizer was procured from Ring road market. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in three replications consisting of propagation planting methods D (propagation by seed), T(propagated by seedling) and four fertilizer treatment F1 (control), F2 (400kg/NPK) ,F3 (poultry dropping 20 t/ha), F4 (poultry manure 10 t/ha and 200 kg/ha).Data on vegetative characteristics (plant height ,leaf length, stem diameter and leaf area) and reproductive characters (nut yield, herbage yield and number of nut) were taken. From the result of the experiment it was observed that plant height
(98.35) and the leaf area (68.81) were significantly increased with direct sowing compared with the transplant, similarly plants that receive fertilizer were superior in plant and leaf area the control. However the effect of propagation methods and fertilizer application was not significant on the herbage and nut yield of Tiger nut. Therefore farmers in this locality can produce tiger nut using the direct sowing method with little to no fertilizer application.