FIELD TRIAL FOR NEW MALAYSIAN COCOA BOARD COMPOUND FERTILIZER
Authors: Helmi, S. , Nurfadzilah, M . Rozita, O. Ishak, Z. Fisal, A.
Journal Issue: Malaysian Cocoa Journal, Volume 13(1)/2021
Keywords: Cocoa, Biochar, Compound fertilizer, Effective microorganisms
Published On: 1/11/2021
Abstract
Several studies regarding fertilizer for cacao had been done and developed in Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB). The aim of this study was to develop a new compound fertilizer that incorporated these findings. The fertilizer developed will have better nutrient retention, mitigation to Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD) infections and biofertilizer properties. The objective of the study is to observe the efficacy of the new compound fertilizer on a field trial experiment. The fertilizer was applied to 10 trees and compared to conventional fertilizer. Each tree was applied with the fertilizer at the rate of 1kg/tree/year. Disease Severity Index (DSI) for VSD symptoms and pod yield was recorded. Data were collected for one year. The data obtained indicate that there were no significant differences in pod yield collected although conventional fertilizer shows a slightly lower yield than treated trees. DSI data, however, show significantly lower on treated trees. The study indicates that the new fertilizer has the potential to provide sufficient nutrient for producing cacao tree and has beneficial properties on reducing VSD severity.