Effects of Organic Amendments on Soil Chemistry, Fauna Diversity, and Pepper Growth in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa

Abstract

Soil is a non-renewable resource that performs many vital functions. Over-exploitation of soil by farmers leads to soil degradation such as acidification or organic matter lost. To find sustainable soil fertility management techniques, three types of organic matter (compost, compost combined with fungi, bacteria and yeast, and biochar) were applied to the soil. This study evaluates and compares the effect of various organic amendment on the soil fertility under pepper. A field trial was carried out in a randomized block design with four treatments (T0, T1, T2 and T3) and repeated three times in the Agboville department, located in Côte d’Ivoire. Growth and productivity parameters were measured during the experiment. At the end of the experiment, soil and plant samples were taken for chemical analysis and to determine soil fauna. The results show that the various treatments had little impact on soil chemical parameters. As for the soil fauna, results indicated a low level of biological activity under all treatments. However, a comparison of organic matter types shows that the compost-based treatment (T1) had a relative positive impact on pepper growth and production parameters, compared with the biochar treatment (T3), microorganism-based compost (T2) and control (T0) treatments. With a view to intensifying pepper production, it would be advisable to continue this work with long-term experiments while increasing the doses of organic matter applied to the soil.