Soil variability and crop yield gaps in two village landscapes of Burkina Faso

Abstract

Low crop yields in the savannah zones of West Africa are commonly attributed to rainfall deficits and poor soil fertility. In this study, an assessment was made on how the position of fields belonging to different farm types can explain soil variability and related crop yield gaps in two villages in Burkina Faso, Yilou and Koumbia, located, respectively, in the Sudano-Sahelian and Sudanian agro-ecological zones. In each village, four farm types were identified. Soil fertility was generally poor and use of nutrient inputs low in most of the farmer's fields . As a consequence, yields for most crops were low, but differences among farm types were found, which can be linked to their socioeconomic characteristics that influence the amount of inputs used. Application of fertilizers differed also between fields within farms and tended to be greater on the fields near the homesteads in the village of Yilou, especially for organic fertilizers. At both villages, the rates of N and K inputs were insufficient to compensate for their respective output rates, leading to negative partial nutrient balances . The existence of patchworks of soil fertility gives rise to a wide variation in crop responses to fertilizers. Exploitable yield gaps were substantial and to a large extent related to the low fertility status of soils and sub-optimal fertilizer applications. (Résumé d'auteur

On-farm evaluation and determination of sources of variability of soybean response to Bradyrhizobium inoculation and phosphorus fertilizer in northern Ghana

“…There was variation in grain yield between locations and among treatments due to the spatial variability in soil nutrients and environmental factors. This seems to be a common characteristics of on – farm trials in smallholder settings in SSA as reported by several other researchers (e.g., Zingore et al, 2007 ; Fermont et al, 2009 ; Bielders and Gérard, 2015 ; Diarisso et al, 2016 ; Falconnier et al, 2016 ; Kihara et al, 2016 ; Masso et al, 2016 ; Ronner et al, 2016 ). The variables measured in this experiment could explain 42–79% of the variances in grain yield in the Northern and Upper West regions.…”

“…Cumulative rainfall had negative effect on yield, which is comparable to the observations by Ronner et al (2016) in Nigeria. Diarisso et al (2016) attributed yield variability in crops in Burkina Faso to rainfall. The negative effect of cumulative rainfall on soybean grain yield in Northern region is difficult to explain.…”

Low Cotton Yield is Associated with Micronutrient Deficiency in West Africa

“…dS m -1 t ha -1 % -----mg L -1 ------------mg kg -1 ------- place also during years with near-average precipitation, as also reported for other crops (Diarisso et al, 2015). Soil organic matter depletion was also clearly reflected in the amount of nutrients.…”

Sustainable Agroforestry Landscape Management: Changing the Game

“…The Mossi Plateau in the central part of Burkina-Faso in West-Africa spans the Sudano-Sahelian climate gradient, with unimodal rainfall from June to September, with an annual average ranging from 400-700 mm [114]. Two villages (Yilou and Tansin) represent this gradient, with sandy clay loam soils, low in soil organic carbon (0.2 and 0.4, respectively) [115].…”