Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol

The use of fertiliser particularly for the inorganic fertilisers has increased annually to cope the global demand of crop production. Nevertheless, inorganic fertiliser is expensive and associated with the negative effects to the environment and soil health. Alternatively, organic materials can be c...

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Main Author:	Boney Muda
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English English
Published:	2019
Subjects:	S631-667 Fertilizers and improvement of the soil
Online Access:	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/1/24%20PAGES.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/2/FULLTEXT..pdf
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spelling	my-ums-ep.411682024-10-14T02:32:38Z Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol 2019 Boney Muda S631-667 Fertilizers and improvement of the soil The use of fertiliser particularly for the inorganic fertilisers has increased annually to cope the global demand of crop production. Nevertheless, inorganic fertiliser is expensive and associated with the negative effects to the environment and soil health. Alternatively, organic materials can be composted and used as fertiliser. Although organic fertilisers have low nutrient concentration and solubility, organic fertilisers release nutrients slowly which makes them available for a longer period. Moreover, the waste by-products such as biomass and manure from plantation and livestock farms are available in abundance. By adopting proper composting methods, these abundant wastes can be optimally used particularly in cocoa plantation. This study was conducted at Field 21 (F21) of Malaysian Cocoa Board Research and Development Centre in Madai Kunak, Sabah for 27 months duration. The objective was to determine the effects of different types of fertilisers (T1 – Inorganic Fertiliser (control), T2 – Chicken Manure, T3 – Cow Manure, T4 – Empty Fruit Bunch, and T5 – Cocoa Pod Husk) and their frequency application (F1 – Every 4-months, and F2 – Every 2-Months). Design for the trial was Random Complete Block Design (RCBD) in 3 replicates with total of 30 experimental plots. The parameters were studied in three stages; pre-harvest (pod and bean analyses, production of cocoa, and soil and leaf sampling for chemical analyses), postharvest processing (sugar and fat content, pH and titratable acidity analyses) and chocolate production. In addition, cost benefit analysis was also conducted for a comparative economic cost between the fertilisers. The results showed that there were no significant differences on the pod and bean quality, bean chemical characteristics, crop production, flavour attributes, soil chemical properties and leaf nutrient content between inorganic and organic fertilisers regardless of the frequency of application. However, the organic fertilisers significantly reduced bean acidity up to 90.9% compared to inorganic fertilisers which resulted in better chocolate flavour. Lastly, this study indicated that empty fruit bunch and cow manure treatment for every 4-months and 2-months application, respectively is the best treatments in providing the highest net income based on the cost benefit analysis compared to inorganic fertiliser treatment. Therefore, this study has clearly demonstrated that organic fertilisers were determined to be alternative to inorganic fertiliser and they are environmental-friendly. 2019 Thesis https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/ https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/1/24%20PAGES.pdf text en public https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/2/FULLTEXT..pdf text en validuser masters Universiti Malaysia Sabah Fakulti Pertanian Lestari
institution	Universiti Malaysia Sabah
collection	UMS Institutional Repository
language	English English
topic	S631-667 Fertilizers and improvement of the soil
spellingShingle	S631-667 Fertilizers and improvement of the soil Boney Muda Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
description	The use of fertiliser particularly for the inorganic fertilisers has increased annually to cope the global demand of crop production. Nevertheless, inorganic fertiliser is expensive and associated with the negative effects to the environment and soil health. Alternatively, organic materials can be composted and used as fertiliser. Although organic fertilisers have low nutrient concentration and solubility, organic fertilisers release nutrients slowly which makes them available for a longer period. Moreover, the waste by-products such as biomass and manure from plantation and livestock farms are available in abundance. By adopting proper composting methods, these abundant wastes can be optimally used particularly in cocoa plantation. This study was conducted at Field 21 (F21) of Malaysian Cocoa Board Research and Development Centre in Madai Kunak, Sabah for 27 months duration. The objective was to determine the effects of different types of fertilisers (T1 – Inorganic Fertiliser (control), T2 – Chicken Manure, T3 – Cow Manure, T4 – Empty Fruit Bunch, and T5 – Cocoa Pod Husk) and their frequency application (F1 – Every 4-months, and F2 – Every 2-Months). Design for the trial was Random Complete Block Design (RCBD) in 3 replicates with total of 30 experimental plots. The parameters were studied in three stages; pre-harvest (pod and bean analyses, production of cocoa, and soil and leaf sampling for chemical analyses), postharvest processing (sugar and fat content, pH and titratable acidity analyses) and chocolate production. In addition, cost benefit analysis was also conducted for a comparative economic cost between the fertilisers. The results showed that there were no significant differences on the pod and bean quality, bean chemical characteristics, crop production, flavour attributes, soil chemical properties and leaf nutrient content between inorganic and organic fertilisers regardless of the frequency of application. However, the organic fertilisers significantly reduced bean acidity up to 90.9% compared to inorganic fertilisers which resulted in better chocolate flavour. Lastly, this study indicated that empty fruit bunch and cow manure treatment for every 4-months and 2-months application, respectively is the best treatments in providing the highest net income based on the cost benefit analysis compared to inorganic fertiliser treatment. Therefore, this study has clearly demonstrated that organic fertilisers were determined to be alternative to inorganic fertiliser and they are environmental-friendly.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Boney Muda
author_facet	Boney Muda
author_sort	Boney Muda
title	Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
title_short	Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
title_full	Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
title_fullStr	Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
title_full_unstemmed	Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol
title_sort	effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (theobroma cacao l.) grown on a vertisol
granting_institution	Universiti Malaysia Sabah
granting_department	Fakulti Pertanian Lestari
publishDate	2019
url	https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/1/24%20PAGES.pdf https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/41168/2/FULLTEXT..pdf
_version_	1818611376580460544

Effect of organic fertilisers on the yield and quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) grown on a vertisol

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