Laboratoire d’Etude et de Recherche sur la Fertilité du sol (LERF), Institut du Développement Rural (IDR), Université Nazi Boni, 01 BP 1091 Bobo-Dioulasso 01, Burkina Faso
Understanding farmers soil fertility management practices allow to conduct efficiently agricultural development programs and appropriate researches. This study was conducted in western Burkina Faso, in the Hauts-Bassins and Boucle du Mouhoun regions. The objective is to determine agricultural production systems and farmers soil fertility management practices on corn farms. The analysis of diversity was carried out by surveys in the form of individual interviews administrated to 100 maize productors. Ultimately, depending on production systems, farming practices and geographic position, three types of maize farms have been identified: scrubland fields which represent 81% of maize farms and which have the lowest yields (1784 ± 640 kg / ha); the village fields representing 12% with a yield of 2250 ± 899 kg / ha and finally the shebang fields representing 7% with a yield of 2529 ± 787 kg / ha. Among the cultural operations, plowing and weeding are carried out by harnessing. Regarding organic fertilization, 43.7% of farmers use compost made from various domestic substrates. The fertilization regimes in the scrubland fields, village fields and shebang fields were respectively 12, 6 and 4. The fertilization regime of 150 kg / ha of NPK + 50 kg / ha of urea corresponding to the dose recommended on cotton is the most common. The high number of fertilization regimes negatively influenced the yields in the bush fields. Thus, the yield by type of field was strongly correlated with farmers organo-mineral fertilization practices (r> 0.60). The intakes of the doses of NPK are fractionated unlike those of urea. The main source of fertilizer supply for farmers (67.8%) is cooperative credit.