Improving the Quality of Rubber Plants in Bagged Nurseries by the Use of Compost-Based Culture Substrates

Abstract

The decrease of fertility soils, the rarity of quality potting soil used to fill nursery bags, the high cost of chemical fertilisers and the problems associated with their use are leading planters and rubber nurserymen in developing and/or expanding areas to look for alternative and sustainable fertilization. In this perspective, a trial was carried out at Research Station of CNRA-Bimbresso and in a farmer’s environment in order to evaluate the agronomic quality of compost made from chicken droppings and dry Panicum maximum straw to improve the growth of rubber plants in bagged nurseries. Mixtures based on potting soil and/or compost in different proportions were prepared. The follow-up of the trial focused on determination of the physico-chemical characteristics of the soils, measurement of the parameters of vegetative growth and the grafting success rate evaluation of rubber plants in nursery. The results obtained show that compost-based crop substrates increase soil organic matter, nitrogen, exchangeable bases, etc., in proportion to the doses applied. For the pH, the application of compost resulted in a reduction in soil acidity of about 1.3 unit compared to the initial values at the two study sites. The vegetative behaviour of the rubber plants also shows that qualitative (height and collar diameter) and quantitative (grafting success rate) improvements were recorded in the plants raised in compost-based substrates. The production of rubber plants in bagged nurseries was optimal with compost doses of 27 t ⋅ ha − 1 (at Bimbresso, in the southeast) and 27 t ⋅ ha − 1 combined with fractionated application of urea (at Kimoukro, in the centre), which under the conditions of the present study may be the recommended doses on rubber plants in bagged nurseries at C ô te d’Ivoire.