ABSTRACT

 An experiment was conducted at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture green house to assess the effect of different rates of application of spent grain (SP) and cow dung manure (CD) on soil chemical properties and growth pattern of maize (Oba super2). The study was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. Precharacterizatton of chemical properties of the soil and organic materials used for the study were carried out. The soils were amended with organic materials at the rates of 0, 2, 4, and 6tons/ha respectively. Data on soil chemical properties, plant height and plant girth were collected at one week interval for a total period of four weeks. The result showed that the addition of organic materials improved the soil chemical properties with cow dung alone giving the highest value in available phosphorus (0.53) and ECEC (2.53), however, soil exchangeable calcium was highest when a spent grain waste alone was applied(2.83). Spent grain waste alone gave the highest value in exchangeable acidity and aluminum(2.27), total nitrogen(0122) while combination of spent grain waste and cow dung manure gave the highest values in soil pH(6.20), organic carbon(9.07) and exchangeable calcium(1.67). Spent grain waste at 2WAP and 3WAP, there were significant difference (p 0.05) increasing plant height in relation to the rates of application. The spent grain also increased plant girth at 4WAP (p< 0.05). From the result obtained from the study, the following recommendations are made; the use of spent grain waste at the rate of 6 ton per hectare will be optimal in improving the nitrogen while the use of spent grain waste in combination with cow dung manure is recommended for the improvement of soil pH.