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Greener Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition Vol. 6(1), pp. 08-14, 2019 ISSN: 2384-6348 Copyright ©2019, the copyright of this article is retained by the author(s) DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.15580/GJSSPN.2019.1.061819111 https://gjournals.org/GJSSPN |
Effect of some organic, inorganic and foliar fertilizers on the growth of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings raised in soils of contrasting characteristics
Arthur, Alfred*; Acquaye, Solomon; Dogbatse, Jerome Agbesi
Soil Science Division, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, P.O. Box 8, New Tafo-Akim
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ARTICLE INFO |
ABSTRACT |
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Article No.: 061819111 Type: Research DOI: 10.15580/GJSSPN.2019.1.061819111
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The establishment of cocoa farms has been popular with the use of nursed seedlings in polybags. Availability of fertile topsoil for nursing cocoa seedlings is becoming limited and poor seedling growth of cocoa in the nurseries has been ascribed to the use of unsuitable potting media. A search for an alternative means of raising healthy seedlings at the nursery that will accelerate seedling growth is what this trial investigates. The experiment was laid out in 2 x 5 factorial arranged in Completely Randomized Design with four replications. Two soils, ‘Black soil’ obtained from a refuse dump and topsoil of Wacri series, collected from an old cocoa farm were used. Five fertilizer sources, control, inorganic, organic and two foliar fertilizers were used. Seedlings were raised from mixed hybrid cocoa and assessed at bi-weekly intervals for 14 weeks for growth. Initial soil analyses showed that the Black soil was relatively fertile compared to the Wacri series. Percent seedling emergence was initially higher with the unfertilized soil than the fertilized. Dry matter yields of roots and leaves were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the fertilizer. Application of fertilizers had no significant (p>0.05) effect on stem dry matter yield. Finally, seedlings from the Black soil which had higher initial fertility status performed better than those of Wacri series. With the different fertilizers on the growth performance and dry matter production, foliar fertilizer treatments performed better compared with the organic and inorganic fertilizers. From the experiment, it is concluded that the well decomposed Black soil from the refuse dump remains the best medium for the nursery work, but in the absence of this medium, less fertile topsoil could be used for raising cocoa seedlings and the growth boosted with foliar fertilizers. |
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Submitted: 18/06/2019 Accepted: 20/06/2019 Published: 02/09/2019 |
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*Corresponding Author Alfred Althur E-mail: alfredarthur76@ yahoo.com Phone: +233243530513 |
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Keywords: cocoa; fertilizers; seedlings; soils |
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Cite this Article: Arthur, A; Acquaye, S; Dogbatse, JA (2019). Effect of some organic, inorganic and foliar fertilizers on the growth of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) seedlings raised in soils of contrasting characteristics. Greener Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, 6(1): 8-14, https://doi.org/10.15580/GJSSPN.2019.1.061819111. |
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