EFFECT OF ORGANIC FERTILIZERS COMBINATION ON YIELD AND SOIL PROPERTIES OF COCOA (Theobroma cacao L.)
Authors: Boney, M., Jenrry, S., Sairul J. and Mohd. Yusof M. Y.
Journal Issue: Malaysian Cocoa Journal, Volume 15(1)/2023
Keywords: Cocoa, Fertilizer, Organic materials, Yield, Soil properties
Published On: 27/10/2023
Abstract
The use of fertilizer, particularly for inorganic fertilizer has increased annually to cope with the global demand of crop production. Nevertheless, inorganic fertilizer is expensive and associated with negative effects to the environment and soil health. Alternatively, organic materials can be composted and used as fertilizer. Although organic fertilizer has low nutrient concentration and solubility, organic fertilizers release nutrients slowly which makes them available for a longer period. Moreover, the waste by-products such as biomass and manure from plantation and livestock farms are available in abundance. By adopting proper composting methods, these abundant wastes can be optimally used particularly in cocoa plantation. Hence, this study was conducted at Field 16 (F16) of Malaysian Cocoa Board Research and Development Centre in Madai Kunak, Sabah for 24 months duration, although some of month activities were distracted by the Movement Control Order (MCO) due to pandemic COVID-19. The objective was to determine the effects of without, sole and combination of different organic fertilizers such as; (T1) - No fertilizer applied (control), (T2) – Cocoa Pod Husk Compost (CPH), (T3) – Chicken Manure (CM), (T4) – Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB), (T5) – CPH + CM, (T6) – CPH + EFB, (T7) – CM + EFB and (T8) CPH + CM + EFB on yield and soil properties of cocoa. The design for the trial was Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in 3 replicates with total of 24 experimental plots. The parameters studied were yield of mature cocoa tree and its soil chemical properties. The results showed that there were no significant differences between the effect of all treatments on yield production and soil chemical properties. Therefore, this study has indicated that the utilization with sole or combination organic fertilizers in cocoa plantation was feasible particularly for the cocoa smallholders and can be an alternative to inorganic fertilizer in cocoa plantation plus environmental-friendly.