Effects of organic fertilizers and tillage on yield and its components of three varieties of Corchorus olitorius L. produced in South Benin

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the influence of organic fertilizer and tillage on the agro-morphological characteristics of three varieties of jute. A split plot design with three factors was installed in 02 repetitions. The main factor consists of the type of soil with 02 levels one of which is frequently plowed and the second of which has not been exploited during the last 5 years. The secondary factor is the dose of organic fertilizer with 08 levels including 0.5 kg/m², 0.75 kg/m², and 1 kg/m² of poultry dung; 2 kg/m², 2.5 kg/m², 3 kg/m² of cow dung; and one control without fertilizer, and the third factor is variety with 3 variants. The data collected during the trial were entered and processed in the Excel 2016 spreadsheet and subjected to various analyses including descriptive statistics, and analysis of variance with the Statitica software. The principal component analysis was performed with R 4.2.1 software and identified characters that are controlled by the treatments applied. The performance of the different varieties was assessed in the different study environments. The results show that soil amendment with varying doses of poultry dung associated with tillage improves the agro-morphological parameters of the plant. This association shows better improvement in seedling height, leaves, and biomass compared to the use of cow dung. Thus, organic fertilizer efficiently contributes to soil fertility improvement. The difference inthe  contribution of these organic fertilizers to the improvement of soil status and crop yields could be due to the difference in organic matter and nutrients contained.