FOR BETTER USE OF ZEBU HORN POWDERS AS FERTILIZER IN FERRALITIC SOILS

Agronomiques

Soil fertilization is essential for maintaining agricultural productivity while providing necessary nutrients to crops. Several fertilizers are used by farmers to improve agricultural production and amend the soil, including zebu horn powder which is one of the potential fertilizers. How can exploit zebu horn powders in agricultural production to increase yield in ferralitic soils? Faced with this problem, a study was conducted in the Haute Matsiatra region, aiming to describe a type of use of zebu horn powders for improving agricultural yields. The experimental design is placed on a flat plot and is composed of Fisher blocks with five replicates. This experiment allowed to compare the effects of zebu horn powders to a “garbage compost” control. Five types of fertilizer were applied: T0 for garbage composts (CO), T1 for raw zebu horn powders (PCZ), T2 for a mixture of equal parts of PCZ CO, i.e. 2PCZ+2CO, T3 for 1PCZ+3CO, and T4 for 1PCZ+4CO. Traditional production techniques used by local farmers were adopted for the experiment. The results obtained show positive effects of burying zebu horn powder on the yields of Cucurbita pepo L. or zucchini crops, particularly in relatively poor soils. Using a mixture of CO and PCZ significantly increases zucchini yield. Furthermore, applying PCZ improved plant growth in terms of leaf number and height. PCZ must be mixed with other fertilizers. T4 for 1 PCZ + 4 CO is the most recommended for zucchini production.

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