Nutrient Quality Studies of Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia Occidentalis Hook. F) Leaves as Influence by Fertilizer Microdosing and Micro-Dosing Time

The nutrient qualities of vegetables have been noted to be affected by agronomic practices. The study evaluated the effect of fertilizer micro-dosing and time of application on nutrient quality of fluted pumpkin. The field experiment was carried out during 2015/2016 cropping season at the Teaching and Research Farm, Obafemi Awolowo University (O.A.U), Ile-Ife, situated within the forest zone (latitude 07028’N and longitude 04033’E at 224 m above sea level). Fresh matured leaves of fluted pumpkin that have been subjected to four levels of Urea fertilizer which was microdozed on fluted pumpkin were harvested and evaluated for proximate analysis and phyto-chemical screening at the Department of Biochemistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The proximate analysis involved evaluating for percentage carbohydrate, crude protein, ash content, moisture, crude fibre and nitrogen free extract. Also, quantification was made on the same phyto-chemical compound such as anthraquinone, phlobatannins, xanthoproteins, saponnins, cardiac glycoside, flavonoids and alkaloid. The experiment was a factorial experiment involving seasons; five levels of Urea fertilizer was micro-dozed at two different times (during planting and two weeks after emergence) and were replicated four times. The experimental design was a 2x4 factorial arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Data was evaluated for proximate and phyto-chemical contents. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and descriptive analysis to determine the effects of fertilizer micro-dosing and time of application on fluted pumpkin leaves and significant means were separated by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at (0.05) probability levels. The results showed that, seasons, time of application and the fertilizer micro-dosing significantly affected (p< 0.05) the nutrient quality of fluted pumpkin leaf. There were seasonal effects (p< 0.05) on fluted pumpkin leaf nutrient quality. For the phyto-chemical analysis, saponins, cardiac glycoside, flavonoids and alkaloid were present for all the treatment applied. Increased fertilizer level decreased the nutrient quality for the proximate analysis and phyto-chemical contents of the plant. Micro-dosing of fertilizer at 40kg N/ha was not significantly different from the effects of 60 and 80kg N/ha on vegetative yield and nutrient component of fluted pumpkin. Hence, 40kg N/ha of micro-dosed Urea fertilizer is adequate for fluted pumpkin leaf nutrient quality.