Abstract

The use of biochar amendments in banana soils has inspired research with the aim of comparing the effects of a biochar obtained from cocoa pods on banana development. The work was carried out on two farms, one under an organic agriculture model (FO) and the other conventional (FC). The doses per treatment in each farm consisted of 10 g (T1), 30 g (T2) and 50 g (T3) of biochar + bioferment with Trichoderma spp.; 100 g of Si2O (FO) and 100 g of urea (FC) were added to this mixture. All treatments were applied to the soil in front of the son. The highest values for plant height were 217.8 cm (FO, T2) and 266.7 cm (FC, T3), in pseudostem thickness the highest means were 41.1 cm (FO, T1) and 52.1 cm (FC, T3), much higher than the control. In bunch weight and number of hands, significant differences (p≤0.05) were obtained in both farms. The results revealed that the treatments had a positive effect on the growth of banana plants compared to the control on both farms.