This study, conducted in Akressi, Côte d’Ivoire, assesses the impact of cover crops (Arachis repens and Desmodium adscendens) on soil properties and dessert banana production (Cavendish, Grande-Naine) over two cycles. Ferralitic soils, degraded by intensive monoculture, are examined using a Fischer block design with three treatments: control (bare soil with herbicides), A. repens, and D. adscendens. Soil physical properties (bulk density: 1.90–1.94 g/cm3, porosity: 25.15–27.18%, gravimetric moisture: 17.34–21.58%) remain unchanged (p > 0.05). After 12 months, cover crops enhance chemical properties: pH (5.80 control, 6.03 A. repens, 5.93 D. adscendens), organic carbon (1.11% control, 1.24% A. repens, 1.38% D. adscendens), organic matter (1.90% control, 2.13% A. repens, 2.37% D. adscendens), nitrogen (0.10% control, 0.11% A. repens, 0.12% D. adscendens), CEC (5.38 cmol/kg control, 7.20 cmol/kg A. repens, 8.61 cmol/kg D. adscendens), and calcium (1.56 cmol/kg control, 1.66 cmol/kg A. repens, 1.75 cmol/kg D. adscendens) increase significantly (p < 0.05). In the first cycle, growth (height: 245–247 cm) and yield (41.21–42.08 t/ha) are similar (p > 0.05). In the second cycle, control plants are taller (271.76 cm vs. 255.36 cm A. repens); A. repens delays flowering (158 vs. 135 days) and harvest (235 vs. 214 days D. adscendens) and reduces functional leaves (10.84 vs. 11.66 control at flowering) (p < 0.01). Desmodium adscendens increases hands (7.82 vs. 7.33 A. repens) and fingers (140.57 vs. 127.10 A. repens) (p < 0.05). Yields remain comparable (44.17 control, 44.36 A. repens, 44.50 t/ha D. adscendens). Cover crops, particularly D. adscendens, enhance soil chemical fertility without compromising yield, supporting sustainable banana production.

To ensure the sustainability and productivity of the cocoa crop, replanting on non-forested sites such as old orchards or young fallow lands raises the problem of the survival and establishment of seedlings, due to the low fertility of the soil, particularly in phosphorus. Thus, in order to minimize mortality and improve juvenile growth and flowering precocity of cocoa trees, organic, mineral and organo-mineral fertilizers were applied to a fallow land with low phosphate fertility, in Soubré, in the southwest of Ivory Coast. The experimental design was a partially balanced incomplete block design with 12 treatments and three replications. The treatments consisted of two fertilizer applications per year for each plant: compost (T1); phospho-compost (T2); TSP + compost (T3 and T4); NPK based on natural phosphates (T7, T8 and T9), combined with compost (T5 and T6) or phospho-compost (T10 and T11) at different doses. Growth parameters and flowering were evaluated. Treatments T2 (phosphocompost 1 kg), T3 (TSP 75 g + compost 2 kg) and to a lesser extent T11 (NPK 0-15-15 300 g + phospho-compost 1 kg) were the most efficient. They allowed a better growth, a good precocity of crowning and flowering. All the treatments tested did not impact the mortality rate of young cocoa trees. These results could allow farmers to exploit favorably soils with low fertility, with the guarantee of a good establishment of cocoa plants in the field during the juvenile stage.

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale (L.), Anacardiaceae), a forest plant initially became a cash crop. The national production is in clear progression with the extension of cultivated surfaces. However, the yield remains low. This study aims to assess the situation of producers and cashew nut orchards in the regions of Bounkani and Gontougo. The plantations of selected producers have been visited. An investigation sheet has been completed. Some parameters related to producers and plots were evaluated. Eight sub-prefectures were visited and 240 producers interviewed. The age of the producers was between 30 and 50 years old and 61 to 67% of the producers were uneducated. Average densities of orchards visited ranged from 724 to 769 plants / ha. The highest yield of cashew nuts was obtained in orchards between 21 and 30 years old in the Gontougo region (356.72 Kg / ha). In the plantations visited, only herbicides were used as phytosanitary products. 3.70% of peasants used fertilizers in orchards. Asked about the presence of disease in orchards, 54.17% of producers in the Gontougo region and 51.24% in Bounkani found the diseases. On the other hand, at the level of the 73.96 and 97.52% pests respectively in the plantations of Gontougo and Bounkani observed the presence of pests in their orchards. The annual production of cashew was strongly influenced by the density of plantations.