Spectrum of Action of a Natural Total Herbicide Based on Cocoa Juice and Papaya Leaf Extract on a Fallow Plot in Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire
Arsène Gué *
Department of Biology, Agricultural Production Improvement Laboratory, Physiology and Genetics, UFR Agroforestry, Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, BP 150 Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire.
Awa Touré
Laboratory of Natural Environments and Biodiversity Conservation, UFR Biosciences, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Ivory Coast.
Ahou Fallone Brou
Laboratory of Natural Environments and Biodiversity Conservation, UFR Biosciences, Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, 22 BP 582 Abidjan 22, Ivory Coast.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Aims: The general objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and spectrum of action of a bioherbicide based on cocoa juice and papaya leaf extract as a sustainable alternative to glyphosate.
Study Design: The experiment design was a block of Fisher with four repetitions.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out on a fallow land in Daloa Department, Central Western Côte d’Ivoire, from April to June 2025.
Methodology: Treatments applied to the study design were five doses of the tested bioherbicide (16.6 l/ha, 11.08 l/ha, 8.33l/ha, 5.55 l/ha, 2.78 l/ha, and 8 l/ha), an untreated plot and a glyphosate dose (8 l/ha). Their efficacy was assessed every two weeks using C.E.B. scale.
Results: The applied methodology revealed that the tested biological herbicide is as effective as glyphosate at the dose of 16.6 l/ha with a weed mortality rate around 93% and killed all the weed species on the study site except one: Spermacoce verticillata. However, weed vegetation resumption took place from the 45th day after the implementation of the essay.
Conclusion: The use of the local plant extracts appears to be a promising alternative to glyphosate, better suited to small producers. Its application to Spermacoce verticillata at different life stages may allow to detect if there are stages of development when this species can be controlled.
Keywords: Bioherbicides, theobroma cacao juice, carica payaya leaf extract, glyphosate, weeds, sustainable agriculture