Effect of different doses of the dung of cow, human urine and their combination on water and vitamins contents of pineapple (<i>Ananas comosus</i> (L.) Merr.) in southern Benin

Abstract

Pineapple is a tropical fruit much appreciated and consumed throughout the world. The present study has determined the effects of different doses of excrements on fruit water and vitamins content in order to offer to South-Benin pineapple growers an efficient and inexpensive organic fertilization formula. Three-months old plants of the pineapple variety named “Pain de sucre” were submitted, every three months until physiological maturity, to organic fertilization consisting of two doses of dung of cow; two doses of human urine; two combinations of both organic fertilizers and control without any fertilization following a complete randomized block design with seven treatments and four replicates. Fruit water and vitamins contents were determined at fruit maturity using appropriate methods. The results revealed that the effect of excrement use is significant on fruit water, liposolubles (A, E, K1) and hydrosolubles (B3 and B6) vitamins contents ; also this effect varied according to the vitamin. Treatments T1-2 (the dung of cow 310.56 g), followed by T3-1 (dung of cow 77.64 g + human urine 14.05 g) induced the highest fruit water and vitamins contents. These results confirm the importance of cow’s dung and human urine in soil fertilization. The use of these two best treatments (T1-2 and T3-1) will facilitate production of good nutritional quality pineapple suitable for exportation.

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Keywords: Exportation, fertilization, nutritional quality, organic agriculture