Use of Rubber Seed Cake as a Biofertilizer on the Agro-morphological and Biochemical Characteristics of Plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) “Big Ebanga” Fruit

Abstract

Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the fertilizing potential of rubber seed cake on the agro-morphological and biochemical parameters of plantain bananas with a view to proposing appropriate ways of utilizing it. Place and Duration of Study: National Agricultural Research Center (CNRA) in Bimbresso, Abidjan, Ivory Coast from March 2024 to January 2025 Methodology: A randomized block design comprising four treatments and five replicates was set up with plantain vivo-plants of the Big Ebanga cultivar from the collection of the National Agronomy Center in Bimbresso. The different treatments consisted of: T1: chemical fertilizer (120g N/tree and 329g K/ tree); T2: 5 kg of cake/tree; T3: 7.5 kg of cake/ tree; and T4: 10 kg of cake/ tree. The parameters measured consisted of bunch mass, the number of fingers and hands of the fruit, the internal length external length, and the circumference of the fruit. In terms of biochemical parameters, the ash, lipid, fiber, and carbohydrate content, pH, total sugars, reducing sugars and energy value,were determined. Results: The results obtained showed that the fruits in treatments T1 and T4 had the highest statistically significant diet masses. Moreover, treatment T4 produced the highest number of hands (7.33/bunch) and fingers (44.67/hand). The treatments that received the meal had a high ash content (2.92-2.94%) and lipid content (1.20-3.70%) compared to the control. The highest energy values were obtained with treatments T3 (394.94 kcal/100 g) and T4 (399.73 kcal/100 g), and T2 yielded the highest carbohydrate value (91.38%). Conclusion: Rubber seed cake contains nutrients that promote plant growth and improve the nutritional quality of fruit. For use in plantain an application rate of 10 kg/trees (T4) offers good agronomic benefit and nutritional value.