Description
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Jute is a long, soft shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is
produced primarily from plants in the genus corchorus which was once classified with the
family Tiliaceae and more recently with Malvaceae. White jute (corchorus olitorius) is a
popular and leafy vegetable of great importance in Makurdi (Dansi et al.,2009). It is an erect
annual herb that varies from 60cm to approximately 150cm in height depending on the
cultivar. It grows in fields next to the houses, on the market garden sites and home garderns
around the world. Jute plays an important role in nutrition and house hold food security. The
leaves contain an average of 15% dry matter, 4.8g of protein, 25mg of calcium, 4.5mg of iron,
4.7mg of vitamin A, 92 of folates, 1.5mg of nicotinamide and 105mg of ascorbic acid per
100g of leaves (Grubben and Denton, 2004; Harbome et al., 2001). Despite it nutritional and
economic importance, it has been neglected by scientific research and development in
Makurdi. Consequently cultivated varieties run the risk of genetic erosion and their cultivation
is in serious decline due to low fertility soil, poor yield, pest and diseases. In traditional
farming systems, low quantity of fertilizer is applied (Ayodele et al., 2006). In addition, these
systems benefits from only the natural soil fertility and possibly small amounts of fertilizer
applied to increase the production. This residual fertility is insufficient to meet the plant
nutrient supply. Therefore adequate fertilization is essential to maximize their yields. Indeed,