Organic manures and inorganic fertilizers effects on soil properties and economic analysis under cassava cultivation in the southern Cameroon.

Cassava cultivation causes serious soil fertility depletion in southern Cameroon due to high mining of soil nutrients by the crop. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Tithonia diversifolia fresh biomass (TB), poultry manure (PM) and inorganic fertilizers (IF) on soil properties, cassava yield, and the economic returns. The treatments consisted of two rates of TB (10 and 20 t ha-1), two rates of PM (10 and 20 t ha-1), two rates of combined TB and PM (5 and 10 t ha-1), a single rate of inorganic fertilizers (100 N:22P:83 K kg ha-1) and a control. The results showed that soil properties, soil quality index and cassava yield were significantly improved by the application of the organic manures. Tithonia diversifolia fresh biomass (TB) and poultry manure (PM) lowered the soil bulk density, increased soil total porosity, water holding capacity and chemical properties. TB and PM, solely or mixed, improved the aerial dry biomass (ADB) and fresh tuber yield (FTY) of cassava. The organic manures performed better than inorganic fertilizer. The highest yield (51 and 52 t ha-1 of fresh tubers) was obtained with the mixture of TB and PM applied at 10 t ha-1 each for the successive years. Positive and significant correlation was found between SQI and cassava yield. TB and PM combined at 10 t ha-1 each was the most profitable and cost-effective treatment, with a good benefit:cost ratio of 3.2:1 and net return of FCFA 3.736.900 ha-1. Thus, the use of Tithonia diversifolia fresh biomass and poultry manure is a sustainable method for cassava production in the southern Cameroon.

Improving soil physical properties and cassava productivity through organic manures management in the southern Cameroon.

Cassava cultivation causes serious soil fertility depletion in Cameroon. Organic manures can contribute to maintaining the productivity and sustainability of cassava production systems due to their availability and cheapness. This study was conducted during two successive cropping seasons (2016/2017 and 2017/2018) in the Southern Cameroon, to determine the effects of organic manures on soil physical properties, and cassava growth and yield. Tithonia diversifolia fresh biomass (TB) and poultry manure (PM) were used as organic manures. Different treatments were used, namely: (i) control (no amendment), (ii) mineral fertilizer (MF (450 kg ha-1 13-13-23 NPK + 100 kg ha-1 Urea)), (iii) two rates of TB (applied at 10 and 20 t ha-1), (iv) two rates of PM (applied at 10 and 20 t ha-1) and (v) two rates of the mixture of TB and PM (applied at 5 and 10 t ha-1 each). The experimental designed was randomized complete block with three replicates per treatment. The application of TB, PM and TB + PM (mixture) lowered bulk density by 14-22.6%, 21.5-26.2% and 18.2-25%, respectively. While total porosity and water holding capacity were increased with manure application by 9.8-15.1% and 13.3-30.3%, respectively. The mineral fertilizer had no significant effect on these soil physical parameters. Application of TB and PM either solely or mixed significantly improved growth of cassava. Stem height, stem diameter and canopy diameter increased by 34.3-60%, 17.4-30.4% and 19.7-32.7%, respectively. Organic manures performed better than the mineral fertilizer. Aboveground dry biomass and fresh tubers yield increased by 21.7-59.6 and 76.6-112.2% with organic manures, and by 23.2 and 68.5% with mineral fertilizer, respectively. The best performance of cassava in terms of fresh tubers yield (51.78 t ha-1) occurred with the mixture of TB and PM applied at 10 t ha-1 each. The study revealed that fresh biomass of Tithonia diversifolia and poultry manure can be used to improve cassava production and sustain soil productivity in the humid forest zone of Southern Cameroon.

Soil texture and watering impact on pot recovery of soil-stripped oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) seedlings.

The transportation load of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) seedlings from the nursery to planting sites is a crucial problem facing the extension of smallholder plantations in Cameroon. This load can be considerably reduced by removing soil from the roots, which in turn exposes the plants to water and nutrients stresses. A greenhouse pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the recovery performance of such soil-stripped seedlings as a function of watering frequency and soil texture. Plant recovery potential was monitored on 360 nursery seedlings aged 4 months, under two soil types (sandy clay soil with 46% fine particles and sandy loam soil with 19% fine particles) and two watering frequencies (daily and two-days). Three monthly measurements were taken on morphological plant growth parameters including Plant height, Foliar surface, Collar diameter, Root length and Plant weight. Within and between groups analyses of variance and means separation showed the greatest variability for collar diameter, foliar surface and plant weight. All the parameters showed a greater variability and an almost-constant growth from one month to another, except for plant weight that did show a highly significant (p = 0.000) increase between the first measurement and the second. Soil type, watering and their interaction explained 97-99.5% of the variations of all parameters. Except for root length, all other parameters were more sensitive to the effect of soil texture, explaining 83-95% of the total variation. Only plant weight and root length showed slightly greater values under daily watering, other parameters did not show any sensibility to the two watering frequencies proposed in this experiment. Our results showed a low response of plant growth recovery on the low clay sandy loam soil, revealing that a careful selection of a soil texture is crucial for the survival of seedlings and further establishment of the plants following drought stress. It is therefore strongly recommended to many tropical countries where oil palm is an economically important crop, to take this into account during the selection of soil type for oil palm seedlings nursery.