The fragility of agrosystems affects soil moisture and plant chlorophyll content, reducing productivity. The development of agricultural technologies that improve soil water status and plant physiology is therefore necessary. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of these practices on soil moisture and leaf chlorophyll in maize through a randomised complete block split-plot trial with three replicates. Three tillage methods (scarification, ploughing and partitioned ridge cultivation) were applied to the main plots. Two cropping systems (CS1: one row of maize alternating with one row of cowpea and CS2: two rows of maize alternating with two rows of cowpea) combined with five fertilisation levels (i) no fertilisation (F1), (ii) 200 kg ha-1 NPK + 200 kg ha-1 urea on maize + 100 kg ha-1 NPK on cowpea (F2), (iii) 300 kg ha-1 NPK + 100 kg ha-1 urea on maize + 100 kg ha-1 NPK on cowpea (F3), (iv) F2 +2500 kg ha-1 of compost (F4) and (v) F3 +2500 kg ha-1 of compost (F5) were applied to the secondary plots. The chlorophyll index of maize and soil moisture were assessed. Scarification resulted in significantly lower moisture content (14.28%) than ridge cultivation (17.98%) and ploughing (16.91%). SC1-F5 recorded a higher SPAD index (38.62). The combination of tillage, cropping system and organic-mineral fertilisation improves soil moisture and chlorophyll assimilation in maize.

The cashew sector, the second largest agricultural export product in Burkina Faso, is experiencing a shift in practices towards organic production. The objective of this study was to analyze the determining factors in the adoption of organic cashew production. The methodological approach consisted of surveys in the commune of Péni (Burkina Faso). The survey was conducted on a sample of 150 producers taken randomly from the list of members of producer groups. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract the factors. A multiple linear regression was performed to assess the dependencies between the participation indicators and the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results showed that the sample is made up of 99% indigenous people, including 67% men and 31% women. The adoption of organic cashew production is highly dependent on factors related to consumers (consumer demand for health quality, awareness of the dangers of pesticides), the economic environment and the organization of producers (low purchasing power of producers, high cost and fluctuation of input prices, search for autonomy from firms, organization in cooperatives, etc.). In addition, the adoption of organic cashew production also depends very significantly on socio-economic and demographic characteristics (gender, ethnicity and residence status). Consequently, the adoption of organic farming at the cashew level is undoubtedly the result of the combination of socio-economic factors, the characteristics of producers and all conditioned by the mode of access and management of local land.

This research aims to characterize and establish a typology of garden farmers according to their knowledge and use of biopesticides. The study was conducted in Louda, a village in the commune of Boussouma in the North Central region of Burkina Faso. A semi-structured socio-economic survey was conducted among 20 garden farmers, equally divided between men and women. The results of the survey showed that 70% of the garden farmers cited caterpillar as the major pest and leaf curl as the major disease. Twenty-five (25) % and 15% of the garden farmers use biopesticides as a phytosanitary treatment against caterpillar and leaf curl respectively. Unregistered industrial synthetic chemical pesticides for other crops are often used by garden farmers. Ignorance or not of the existence of biopesticides and their use against crop pests are the main criteria that establish the typology of garden farmers in Louda. Age, sex, instruction, mode of access to land, family size, number of salaried agricultural workers and average annual income of the garden farmers are the socio-economic parameters that discriminate this typology. This typology is therefore associated with the socio-economic characteristics of garden farmers.

Bambara groundnut is a food seed legume with enormous agronomic and nutritional potential. However, it remains a neglected crop. In order to improve its productivity in relation to soil and climatic conditions, the present study was conducted in Tenkodogo from July to October 2021. Soil characterization was carried out according to FAO guidelines directives before the setting up of experimental device. Experimental design consisted of the trial following a completely randomized block design with four replications. The effects of applying of 0 (BP0), 30 (BP30), 60 (BP60), 90 (BP90) and 120 (BP120) kg ha-1 of Burkina phosphate (BP) on two varieties KVS246 and KVS 235 of Bambara groundnut were compared. Crop management consisted of a flat plowing, direct application of BP, sowing distances of 0.40 m x 0.20 m and ridging on the 49th day after sowing. Results showed that the soil of experimental site are an iron and manganese sesquioxide’s soils class, specifically to shallow leached ferruginous tropical soil and should corresponding an endo petroplinthic lixisol. This acidic soil is characterized by a sandy surface texture and clay at depth, well drained, with low mineral content. In reference to the research results, the soil and climatic conditions of experimental site are potentially suitable for Bambara groundnut cropping. Treatments not significantly improved Bambara groundnut yields by verities. On this soil, the variety KVS 246 would better interact with applying of 60 and 90 kg ha-1 of BP and the variety KVS 235 with 120 kg ha-1 of BP to improve Bambara groundnut yield parameters compared to the control. Further research is needed over several years to better understand the effects of rock phosphate on Bambara groundnut crop and residual soil fertility.

The management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has always been at the heart of rural populations’ concerns. In Burkina Faso, many species are of paramount interest within NTFPs, among them, Piliostigma reticulatum occupies a prominent place thanks to its multiple ecosystem uses. This study aims to estimate and characterize fruit production according to the different types of soil and land use according to a toposequence gradient in Yilou. The collection of fruit samples was spread over two years and was carried out in the plots in the fields and fallows. The analyses revealed that the average fruit production is a function of soil types with 27.5 ± 0.6 kg on hydromorphic soils compared to 4.02 ± 0.9 kg on medium-deep leached tropical ferruginous soils. The analyses revealed that the average fruit. Then, according to the land use types, the studies indicate that the average fruit production in the fields is significantly higher than that of fallow land with respectively 8.7 ± 1.5 kg/tree and 4.4 ±0.4 kg/tree. These results show that average fruit production remains dependent on soil types and land use types.