Influence of Chicken Manuer Compost on Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) Field Production in the South Cameroon Region

The objective of the present field work in southern Cameroon was to test the effect of chicken dung compost on growth parameters and yield of cowpea. Two cowpea varieties (Lori and Komcalle) and four treatments (T= control; C= compost; CF= chemical fertilizer; CCF= mixture of compost and chemical fertilizer) were used in a completely randomized block design with three replications. Seed emergence rate, height, number of leaves, leaf area, crown diameter, number of nodules per plant and grain yield were evaluated. The results show that the Komcalle variety recorded an emergence rate of 94.85% and the Lori variety a washout rate of 91%. At 60 DAS, the chicken droppings compost shows the optimum values on height of (60.6±11.73 and 63.93±9.39 cm), number of nodules (73.63±1.60 and 72.7±1.62 nodules) and number of leaves (76.13±23and 60.41±18 leaves) for Lori and Komcalle variety respectively. The best seed yields were provided by chicken droppings compost (230±3.7 and 243±2 kg/ha) for Lori and Komcalle varieties respectively, compared to synthetic chemical fertilizer which recorded values of 217±4.7 and 214±2 kg/ha for Lori and Komcalle respectively. Based on the results, it appears that chicken dung compost is beneficial for cowpea cultivation due to improved growth and yield in the Southern Cameroon region.