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.