Short-term effects of Chormolaena odorata on soil organic matter evolution and maize production in the central-western Côte d’Ivoire
Paper Details
Short-term effects of Chormolaena odorata on soil organic matter evolution and maize production in the central-western Côte d’Ivoire
Abstract
Low soil fertility and the high cost of mineral fertilizers constrain maize production in Côte d’Ivoire. This study evaluated the short-term effects of Chromolaena odorata mulch on soil organic matter and maize grain yield over three consecutive cropping seasons. A randomized complete block experiment with three replicates compared four treatments on soil following a five-year C. odorata fallow: mulch alone (Co), mulch plus mineral fertilizer (Co_NPK), mineral fertilizer alone (NPK), and an unfertilized control (T0). Initial soil organic matter and total nitrogen ranged from 2.39% to 2.98% and from 0.14% to 0.16%, respectively. After the first crop, total soil nitrogen declined to 0.05% in all treatments. Soil organic matter remained below baseline after the second crop. By the end of the third season, it had increased significantly above baseline in Co, Co_NPK, and T0, with increases of approximately 166%, 72%, and 61%, respectively. In the first season, Co yielded 10.74 t/ha, significantly more than the other treatments (7.63–8.75 t/ha, overall p = 0.017). In the second season, Co and Co_NPK each yielded 2.50 t/ha, significantly less than T0 and NPK (3.01–3.02 t/ha, overall p = 0.014). In the third season, yields ranged from 2.04 to 2.50 t/ha, with no significant differences among treatments (p = 0.328). The grain yield advantage of mulch alone was confined to the first season after fallow.
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