Abstract

The progressive decline of soil nutrients due to land degradation and poor agricultural practices has a negative impact on crop production. Organic fertilizers are used in sustainable agriculture as eco-friendly and relevant agroparameters, as well as nutrients content for crops. In this study, morpho-physiological parameters (stem height, base diameter, number of leaves per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit yield), biochemicals (chlorophylls and carotenoids), and mineral content (Fe, Ca, and Mg) of two varieties of Solanum melongena L. were investigated. They were assessed under four treatments (cow dung, palm nut fiber ash, NPK, and control) distributed in a randomized complete block design with four replications for each variety. The application of organic or chemical amendments significantly improved the growth and yield of both eggplant varieties compared to the control plants. Overall, the local variety showed better yields than the ameliorate variety for all treatments. However, the average yield of the palm nut fiber ash treatment for the local variety (1.107 kg/m²) and the chemical fertilizer (1.3663 kg/m²) were significantly higher than the cow dung (0.8976 kg/m²) amendment. Mineral fertilizers globally improved their content in this study. These results show that an organic amendment based on palm nut fiber ash can improve the growth and yield of the local variety.

Key words: biochemical content, cow dung, mineral content, morpho-physiological parameters, palm nut fiber ash, Solanum melongena,