Response of cocoa (Theobroma cacao, L.) to different levels of organic waste in Ile-Oluji, South Western, Nigeria

Abstract

An experiment to evaluate the response of cocoa (Theobroma cacao, L.) to different levels of organic waste at the Teaching and Research  Farm, Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji. Ondo State was conducted between July and December, 2021. The experiment involved the use of  Cocoa Pod Husk (CPH) and Pig Manure Biochar (PMB) at various percentages of 25,50,75 and 100, this arrangement gave rise to nine  treatment combinations with the control. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with each treatment  replicated three times given rise to twenty seven plots which were laid out in three blocks. Soil physico-chemical properties, growth and  yield parameters of cocoa seedlings were evaluated using ANOVA at 5% Least Significant Difference (LSD) using Genstat software. The  result of the experiment shown that lower level of Cocoa Pod Husk CPH (25,50 and 75) % is good for raising cocoa seedlings while high  level of Pig Manure Biochar (PMB) (50,75, and 100) % gave similar performance like the CPH on growth parameters of cocoa seedlings. In  all, CPH at 25% gave the best performance. It is therefore recommended that 25% level of concentration of CPH is good for raising cocoa  seedlings in the nursery in Ile-Oluji, South Western, Nigeria.