Amendment of nursery soil with nutrient-containing compounds could promote seedling development. The utility of coffee husk and the optimum quantity needed in sole or combination with NPK for enhanced cashew seedling development was investigated. Medium size cashew nuts were raised for 20 weeks in six nutritional treatments. There were three coffee husk application rates (0.0021 g

A nursery experiment was carried out in Akure (rain forest zone), south-western Nigeria to study relative effect(s) of some organic wastes as fertilizers on growth performance, soil and leaf chemical composition of cocoa seedlings (Theobroma cacao L.) in the nursery. The experiment comprised of five treatments: Cowpea Pod Husk (CPH) (2.5 t/ha), cocoa pod husk ash (CPHA) (2.5 t/ha), kola pod husk (KPH) (2.5 t/ha), NPK15-15-15 (2.5 t/ha) and control (no fertilizer application). Each treatment was applied to 2.5 kg of soil filled polythene bags containing cocoa seedlings. The experiment was arranged in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The organic wastes increased significantly (P>0.05) the plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, number of leaves, fresh root and shoot weights and dry root and shoot weights of cocoa seedlings. The treatments also increased significantly (P>0.05) soil and leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, soil pH and organic matter (OM) content relative to the control. Kola pod husk (KPH) was the most effective in improving cocoa growth, leaf and soil chemical composition.

The high premium placed on the organically produced cocoa in the international market coupled with its health and environmental benefits necessitated recent focus on research into the use of agricultural wastes as source of nutrients in cocoa (T. cacao) production. The study was carried out at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan (Lat. 7˚25'N Long. 3˚25'E), Southwestern, Nigeria during the 2010/2011 seedling production season to compare the effects of NPK (20:10:10) fertilizer, Cocoa Pod Husk and Oil Palm Bunch Ash (CPHA and OPA) on the seedling growth and dry matter yield of cocoa (T. cacao). Equivalent amount of different rates of two nutrients sources CPHA and OPA were applied one month after planting at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 t/ha respectively, recommended rate of 10 kg•N of the conventional NPK (20:10:10). Fertilizer was used as reference fertilizer. Results indicated that all the fertilizer materials positively and significantly (p > 0.05) increased the growth parameters considered. The influence of the ash materials irrespective of sources on the nutrient uptake, dry matter yield of cocoa seedlings and shoot to root ratio were either higher than or had a comparable results with the reference fertilizer (NPK 20:10:10). CPHA and OPA applied at a rate of 4 t/ha significantly (p > 0.05) increased the plant height and root length of cocoa seedlings respectively relative to control and inorganic fertilizer

A nursery experiment was conducted at Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria to evaluate the impact of manure on cashew seedlings. Treatments consisted of biochar, compost, combination of biochar + compost and a control. Treatments were applied at rate of 0 g (control), 5 g compost, 5 g biochar and 2.5 g each of biochar and compost combination into 5 kg soil in pots, laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. The experiment was monitored for four months in the greenhouse. Data were collected on number of leaves, plant height, stem girth, soil nutrient composition and nutrient uptake, all analyzed using analysis of variance. The treated soils were also assayed on Potato Dextrose Agar for associated mycoflora. The study showed that the soil P H , N, P, K, Ca and Mg were equally enhanced significantly relative to the control, while Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Beauverie, Penicillium, Lasiodiplodia and Rhizopus cultured treated soils shows that Trichoderma harzianum and Beauverie bassiana were significantly higher

About 70 to 80% of the coffee berries husk end up as agricultural waste after processing. Its neglect or improper utility can cause environmental pollution. The present study investigated the efficiency of Streptomyces, Trichoderma harzianum and the combination of both as bio-degradable agents of coffee husk which is regarded as agricultural waste. Identification of their efficiency is necessary to stimulate further research on their probable utility in converting huge mass of coffee husk to organic manure for soil amendment and higher crop productivity. Coffee husk from the coffee processing unit of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan was the substrate for the isolates of Streptomyces, Trichoderma and Streptomyces/Trichoderma. Culturing was observed for 0, 15 and 30 days. The factorial in completely randomized design experiment had ten treatment combinations (control inclusive) of three replications. Significant (P < 0.001) variation existed among the three periodic days for all the generated biochemical products. The three organisms and the interaction between organisms and days differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) for moisture content, dry matter content, phosphorus content and the pH. The production trend of most of the biochemical as aided by Streptomyces was both linear and quadratic for the three days. Caffeine, tannin, phosphorus, potassium and dry matter content were significantly highest in the control. Wricke ecovalence was least for the production of moisture content, phosphorus, dry matter, tannin and pH in the treatment which combines the two organisms. For the production of biochemical from the incubated substrate, the nine treatments significantly differed from the control denoting that microorganisms are needed in organic matter decomposition process.