Responses of Maize and Tomato Crops to Fertilization with Three Agroforestry Litter Species (Annona senegalensis, Terminalia macroptera and Parkia biglobosa)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of Annona senegalensis, Parkia biglobosa and Terminalia macroptera litters amended to soil in order to improve growth and yield of tomato and maize plants. Trials were conducted at the University of Ngaoundere in a complete randomised block design for each of the two crops. Treatments consisted for each crop of a control (T) and three litters-based fertilizers of A. senegalensis (AS), P. biglobosa (PB) and T. macroptera (TM). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare means between treatments. The results obtained indicate that the chemical characteristics of litters varied from one plant species to another. The pH of the three litters AS, PB and TM (6.06; 6.02; 6.07) was acid, while nitrogen content ranged from 2.43% (PB) to 1.40% (TM). A significant difference was observed between treatments for plant height of tomato (p = 0.0016) and maize (p = 0.039). The litters of A. senegalensis (80.33 g) and P. biglobosa (70.60 g) stimulated a significant production of more maize biomass compared to that of the control (37.26 g). The tomato biomass produced under soil amended with litter of A. senegalensis (27.33 g) and T. macroptera (31.27 g) was significantly more abundant (p = 0.035) than that of control (17.31 g). For tomato plants, the highest yield was observed for the treatment litter of A. senegalensis (7.35 t/ha), while the lowest yield accounted for the control (3.48 t/ha). The yield variation between treatments was in the following order: AS> PB>TM>T. As for maize, the yield varied from 4.15 t/ha (litter of T. macroptera) to 1.66 t/ha (control), and was classified between different treatments as: TM> PB > AS> T. Among the three tested litters, Annona senegalensis litter was the best for tomato, whereas Terminalia macroptera litter was better for maize production.