 Emmanuel Effa (Correspondence)  +2348037965697 This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. Publication rights with Alkhaer Publications. Published at: http://www.ijsciences.com/pub/issue/2019-08/ DOI: 10.18483/ijSci.2126; Online ISSN: 2305-3925; Print ISSN: 2410-4477 Comparative Efficacy of Organic Manures for Improved Performance of Waterleaf (Talinum fructicosum (L) Juss.) in the Humid Tropical Rainforest Aniefiok Uko 1 , Otobong Iren 1 , Emmanuel Effa 1 , Isong Abraham 1 1 Department of Crop Science, University of Calabar Abstract: Waterleaf apart from being a source of food provides employment and income to mostly female peasant farmers. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of organic manure types and their combinations on the growth and yield of water leaf in a typical tropical humid rainforest in 2016 and 2017 Cropping seasons. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments included sole poultry manure (PM) at 10 t ha -1 , 10 t ha -1 cow dung (CD), 8 t ha -1 oil palm bunch ash (OPBA) and their combinations including; 5 t ha -1 PM + t ha -1 CD, 5 t ha -1 PM +4 t ha -1 OPBA, 5 t ha -1 CD+4 t ha -1 OPBA and the control where no manures were applied. Data collected included; plant height, number of leaves and branches and leaf area plant -1 , fresh and dry weights of water leaf. These were analyzed using analysis of variance and means compared using Fisher’s least significant difference (LSD) at 5%. Waterleaf plants fertilized with 10 t ha -1 PM and combination of 5 t ha -1 PM +4 t ha -1 OPBA showed better performance in all the parameters measured. Hence, 10 t ha -1 PM was recommended amongst other forms of organic manure applied as sole or in combination in Calabar agro ecology of Nigeria. Keywords: Talinum fructicosum, Organic Manure, Improved Performance, Efficacy, Growth and Yield Introduction Waterleaf (Talinum Talinum fructicosum (L) Juss.), which originated in tropical Africa (Tindall, 1983) is an underutilized leafy vegetable crop grown in small corner plots in the southern part of Nigeria, where it serves as a source of food, employment and income for farmers (Idiong et al., 2002, Udo and Akpan, 2007). Most farmers involved in its cultivation are resource poor and may not have access or afford to buy inorganic fertilizers to boost the growth of their crops, thus they resort to the use of various animal/ plant wastes as their fertilizers Most soils in southern Nigeria are acidic due to the nature of parent materials, weathering, intensive cropping, heavy leaching, and may have multiple nutrient deficiencies (Akinmutimi et al., 2013, Owolabi et al., 2003). Such degraded soils are often associated with loss of organic matter and aggravated by repeated application of inorganic fertilizers (Obi and Ebo, 1995). This may ultimately result in reduction of crop growth and yield ( Ayoola & Adeniyan, 2008, Ismaeil et al., 2012). However, Chongrak (1996) reported that organic wastes apart from improving crop production also improve the organic matter status of soils, increase nutrient availability in soils as well as improve the soil physical and chemical properties. The use of animal and plant wastes in crop production is an acknowledged long standing practice in peasant Agriculture (Ndaeyo et al., 2013) and is becoming a more prominent and widely acceptable feature in crop production, especially vegetables in Nigeria. Numerous studies have been carried out on one or more aspects of organic fertilizers as they influence crop growth and yield (Akinmutimi et al., 2013, Ndaeyo et al., 2013, Law-Ogbomo & Ajayi, 2009, Uko et al., 2009). Cow dung (CD) contains a good amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and is ideal for use in top dressing and in compost for garden crops (Ukpai & Nnabuchi, 2012). The potassium content (3% ) as reported by Sokoto et al. (2007) makes CD a good alternative to overcome the problem of unavailability of straight k fertilizer in the market. Udoh et al. (2005) recommended application of organic manures like cow dung (CD), poultry droppings (PM) and/or nitrogenous fertilizers immediately after each harvest of waterleaf. Poultry manure is the most widely used OM in the production of many crops including vegetables in Nigeria and other countries of the world