The use of cocoa pod husks (CPH), cassava peelings (CASP), and rice husks (RH) as soil amendments for the control of Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood on cowpea cv. Ife Brown were compared with carbofuran pesticide and NPK fertilizer application in field and greenhouse trials. Amending soil with CPH proved virtually as effective as carbofuran application, reducing populations of M. incognita, crop damage, and galling index in the field. Improvements in cowpea productivity in CPH- and CASP-amended soil were associated with M. incognita population depression as well as other unknown factors that may include some fertilizing properties of CPH. RH significantly reduced M. incognita populations, but also was a carrier for Fusarium semitectum (Smith), Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magn.), and Phoma spp., three pathogenic fungi that completely (in greenhouse) or nearly (in the field) wiped out the cowpea seedlings within 5 weeks after sowing.
