1Faculty of Natural Sciences, Laboratory of Biology and Improvement of Plant Production, Nangui Abrogoua University, BP 801Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire.
2National Agronomic Research Center, Ferkessédougou Research Station, BP 602Ferkessédougou, Côte d’Ivoire.
3Regional Directorate of CNRA in Korhogo, BP 856Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
4Research Center in Ecology, Nangui Abrogoua University, BP 801Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
5Lataha Research Station, CNRA, BP 856Korhogo, Côte d’Ivoire.
*Corresponding Author: Ballo Amamatou, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Laboratory of Biology and Improvement of Plant Production, Nangui Abrogoua University, BP 801Abidjan 01, Côte d’Ivoire. Email: amamatouballo@gmail.com
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a major economic important crop in tropical regions, particularly in West Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, it is the second most important export product after cocoa, making a significant contribution to farm income and the fight against rural poverty. However, the production of vigorous, homogeneous seedlings remains a major challenge for the sustainable development of this crop. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of mango vaste compost on nut germination and the growth parameters of cashew rootstocks and scions in the nursery.
In a Fisher block design, five doses of compost were tested: no-compost control (T0); 1/4 compost + 3/4 soil (T1); 1/3 compost + 2/3 soil (T2); 1/2 compost+1/2 soil (T3); 100% compost (T4). Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference (p<0.0001) between treatments for the parameters studied. Tukey’s post-test was used to compare means.
The compost treatments performed better than control. However, treatments T2 and T3 resulted in faster nut germination and more efficient plant recovery. Also, the most vigorous plants in terms of height, diameter, number of leaves and spread were obtained with T2 and T3. Treatments T0 (control) and T4 (compost alone) were less effective than the other treatments.
Cashew tree, Compost, Germination, Plant growth, Substrate