Effect of Cultivation Location on the Nutritional Composition of Jute Mallow (Corchorus olitorius)

Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of location on the nutritional composition of jute mallow. Jute leaves samples
obtained from three different locations namely: Iwo, Kila and Omi-Adio were subjected to proximate and
nutrients analysis while the soil samples from the locations were made to undergo routine analysis. The results
showed that there was no significant difference between the jute from Iwo and Omi-Adio in terms of crude
protein, crude fibre and ash contents which were significantly higher than that of Kila. Jute mallow from Kila
and Omi-Adio recorded the same crude fat content which was slightly higher than that of Iwo. The dry matter
content of jute mallow from Iwo (94.05%) was the highest followed by Omi-Adio (93.64%) and least in Kila
(93.19%). The decreasing order of the macro minerals (Na, K, P, Ca, and Mg) in jute from the three locations
was: Iwo > Omi-Adio>Kila. Similarly, jute mallow from Iwo contained higher amount of micro-elements
(196.55mg/kg Fe, 31.51mg/kg Zn, 5.25mg/kg Cu, and 16.45mg/kg Mn) than the jute from Kila (193.65mg/kg
Fe, 31.10mg/kg Zn, 4.05mg/kg Cu, &15.05mg/kg Mn) and Omi-Adio (194.25mg/kg Fe, 31.19mg/kg Zn,
4.70mg/kg Cu & 15.60mg/kg Mn). On the other hand, the results of soil analyses revealed that the soils from
these three locations were moderately acidic with the pH of 6.52 for Iwo, 6.12 for Kila and 6.65 for Omi-Adio.
Iwo soil had better physical and chemical properties which favoured jute vegetable production with higher
yield components than others. It could be inferred that the variation in soil nutrients influence the nutritional
composition of the crop plant. In conclusion, the jute mallow from Iwo contained higher nutritive values with
better yield and growth performance.