Abstract:
The plant Prosopis juliflora is one of the widely spread invasive alien species in the tropical
dry zones. It is spreading rapidly in the croplands, rangelands, and forests and mainly near
the coastal watersheds. The uncontrolled spread of the plant, there is a need to develop
sustainable management strategies that are environmentally friendly and economically
viable to bring them under control. The study was to investigate the effects of P. juliflora
liquid fertilizer (PJL) and biochar made out of P.juliflora stem in comparison to commercial
fertilizer on the growth of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculate).The objectives of the study were to
introduce an organic liquid fertilizer and biochar prepared from the invasive species P.
juliflora and to propose a method of minimizing the expansion of P. juliflora in Sri Lankan
coastal zone by sustainable management.The experiment was arranged in a three-factor
factorial with Completely Randomize Design (CRD) with three replicates. The experiment
was conducted at the, Mahailluppallama, sub campus, University of Peradeniya, in August
to December 2019. Once in every two weeks 100 ml L-1 and 250 ml L-1 concentration of
P. juliflora Liquid fertilizer was applied to plants and their growth and development
performances was recorded. The study the results confirmed that the Juliflora liquid fertilizer
was producing significantly greater positive impacts on plant growth and development
parameters such as leaf, stem and root dry weights as well as flower and pod counts in 100
ml L-1 concentration at 8WAP and in 250 ml L-1 concentration at 10WAP compared to other
treatments. The plant N content also was greater in Juliflora liquid fertilizer. Thus, Prosopis
juliflora liquid fertilizer can be proposed and recommended as a good organic liquid fertilizer.
