Authors: Orisajo S.B., Afolami S.O., Fademi O.A., Okelana M.A.O.; Atungwu J.J.
International Journal of Research in Chemistry and Environment Vol. 2 Issue 4 Oct. 2012(278-289)
Abstract
The potential of poultry litter to ameliorate nematode parasitism’s induced dieback of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) seedlings and toppling of plantain (Musa spp.) was evaluated in nursery and field experiments between 2005 and 2012.
The experiments were conducted to determine if applying poultry litter as soil amendment suppressed parasitic nematode populations and improved soil and plant health compared to carbofuran treatments. Poultry litter (PL) significantly (p≤0.05) stimulated growth of cocoa seedlings, mitigated root galling and suppressed population densities of plant-parasitic nematodes five months after planting in the nursery. PL treatment with or without carbofuran at 0.3 and 0.4 t/ha led to 100% establishment of cacao in the field while the un-amended control had 65% survival (p<0.05). These surviving seedlings in control plots were stunted and unthrifty, with above-ground hypocotyl swellings twenty weeks after transplanting. Significant reduction in the percentages of toppled plantains and necrotic root damage in PL-amended plots was observed compared to the un-amended plots. The addition of poultry litter had beneficial effects on the chemical properties of the soil, fungal and bacteria population densities, contrary to the adverse effects of carbofuran treatments on the environment. It is therefore concluded that the use of poultry litter as soil amendment not only enhanced soil fertility but also increased microbial diversity, depressed population densities of plant-parasitic nematodes, and ultimately increased crop health and yields with improved environment.
Keywords: Cocoa establishment, soil amendment, parasitic nematodes, carbofuran , plantain, crop health