SOIL AMMENDMENT

The study was carried out at the Experimental Field of the Department of Soil Science and Land Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City (latitude 6.4013754° and 5.6258° North and longitude 5.625880° and 6.40127231 East). The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, four treatment levels with different rates of NPK 20:10:10 (0, 150, 300 and 450kg/ha). Planting was done in October at 0.5m x 0.5m spacing. The study was carried out to determine the effect of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizers as soil amendment for the growth and development of fluted pumpkin in a degraded ultisol. Experimental trials were conducted and the following growth and yield parameters were
collected: Vine length and number of leaves. The experiment was terminated 8 weeks after planting and soil samples were collected for laboratory analysis. Soil physical and chemical properties such as Particle Size Distribution, Textural Classification, Soil Organic Carbon, Total Organic Nitrogen, Available Phosphorus, Exchangeable Bases (Ca, Mg, Na, K), Cation Exchange Capacity and Exchangeable Acidity were determined.