Soil Fitness for the Production of the Black Nightshade “Solanum Scabrum†on a Ferralsol in the Highlands of West Cameroon and Improvement of Yields in Connection with Fertilization and Water Intakes

Following a survey, irrigation was shown to be a limiting factor in black nightshade production (Boukong, 2017). In order to evaluate the land’s capacity for producing black nightshade, the impact of water intakes on yield, the efficiency of water use, and the profitability of fertilizer and water use, a study was conducted on two oxisol campaigns at the University of Dschang Research Application Farm. Three-repetition split-plot design was employed. The variables were water volumes with tree modalities (V1, V2, V3) and frequencies with three modalities (F1, F2, F3). According to the results, the pedoclimatic conditions that prevailed in the first and second campaigns matched the S1-1C class, which is still a moderate climatic limitation, and the S2/S3CF class, which is marginally suitable due to the limits imposed by fertility and climate, respectively. When the two campaigns were combined, the combination that produced the best marketable fresh output was irrigation daily with 1282 mm or 8.5 mm of water per day (V2 F1) for a yield of 53T/ha. Applying 858 mm or 5.7 mm/day every two days is the combination (V1F2) that offers the best water and fertilizer use efficiency (373, 29). Applying 858 mm daily (V1F1) or 5.7 mm daily yields the most profitability; this treatment also has the best RVC of 7 and a profitability of 638. For market gardeners growing in the same edapho-climatic and socioeconomic environment from January to April, these two combinations allowed for the most efficient use of water, fertilizers, and profitability.