Impacts of household waste compost formed in public garbage dump on the organo-mineral status and productivity of a sandy soil

Ferdinand Gohi Bi ZRO, Arnauth Martinez GUEI, Yves Krogba NANGAH, Albert Yao-Kouame.

The inefficient use of mineral fertilizers on sandy soils in general has led users of this type of soil in Daloa (Côte d'Ivoire), especially vegetable growers, to turn to other fertilizers more readily available such as household waste composted in open air. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the inputs of these residues on the fertility of the soils exploited by these producers. Thus, an experimental device was set up on lettuce according to farmers' conditions. This device consisted of four blocks; each block was 21 m long. One block consisted of four elementary plots where different treatments were randomly distributed: the control did not receive compost and three additions of different compost doses (20, 40 and 60 t/ha). Some indicators of soil fertility, namely, soil organo-mineral status and the agricultural yield of the cultivation of lettuce carried out were evaluated. The results showed that the compost used had a significant positive effect on soil properties, and then, on the lettuce production when it was brought to soil at 40 and 60 t/ha. We concluded that solid waste compost can be an attractive alternative to chemical fertilizers on sandy soils.