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Soil management principles in climate-smart conservation <BR>agriculture to halt and reverse land degradation (Communication session)

EUROSOIL2020CONT-2237

AGRONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF CO-COMPOSTED BIOCHAR IN A COTTON-MAIZE ROTATION SYSTEM ON A FERRIC LIXISOL (WEST BURKINA FASO)

Drissa Cissé^{* 1}, Jean Thomas Cornelis², Kalifa Coulibaly³, Mamadou Traoré³, Fatimata Saba¹, Hassan Bismarck Nacro³

¹Gembloux AgroBio Tech, Univerity Nazi Boni of Bobo-Dioulasso/University of Liege, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, ²Gembloux AgroBio Tech, University of Liege, Gembloux, Belgium, ³Rural Development Institut, University Nazi Boni of Bobo-Dioulasso, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Content: Agronomic efficiency of co-composted biochar in a cotton-maize rotation system on a ferric Lixisol (West Burkina Faso)

Autors: Drissa Cissé^1-2, Jean Thomas Cornelis¹, Kalifa Coulibaly², MamadouTraoré², Fatimata Saba^1-2, Hassan Bismack Nacro ²

¹Gembloux AgroBio Tech, Université of Liege, Gembloux, Belgium

²University Nazi Boni of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso  

In Burkina Faso, the high level of soil weathering degree combined with constraining climatic conditions are highly limiting factors for sustainable use of agro-ecosystems, with harmful effect for rural populations. Agronomist and pedologist are facing a major challenge: finding innovation options for increasing soil quality parameters in a sustainable way, and if needed, using tools and technologies accessible to smallholder farmers.  Here we took the opportunity of biochar technology to recycle nutrients from unused cotton stalks. A trial was conducted at the Institut de l'Environnement et Recherches Agricole (INERA) experimental station in Bobo-Dioulasso (West Burkina Faso). Here, we quantified the effects of a soil amendment combining pristine biochar and 150 kg.ha^-1 of NPK, compost and 150 kg.ha^-1 of NPK, co-composted biochar and 100 or 150 kg.ha^-1 of NPK on cotton and maize yields under two years crop rotation on ferric Lixisol. The randomized controlled trial used four replicates per treatment with an experimental area of 40m² per plot and a control treatment (soil without any treatment). The soil amendments have been applied in two parts during the two years of crop rotation: 2.5 T.ha^-1 under cotton cultivation and 2.5 additional T.ha^-1 under maize cultivation.  Here we show that cotton grain yield were significantly higher (1338 kg.ha^-1) for co-composted biochar amendment (combined with 100 kg.ha^-1 of NPK) compared to pristine biochar (1263 kg.ha^-1), co-composted biochar with 150 kg.ha^-1 (1237 kg.ha^-1), compost (1176 kg.ha^-1) and control treatment (786 kg.ha^-1). During the second crop year, the maize grain yield was significantly higher for co-composted biochar with 150 kg.ha^-1 (3653 kg.ha^-1) compared to pristine biochar (3583 kg.ha^-1), co-composted biochar with 100 kg.ha^-1 (3228 kg.ha^-1), compost (2830 kg.ha^-1) and control treatment (540 kg.ha^-1). Taken together, our study highlights the beneficial effects of co-composted biochar and pristine biochar on crop yields that are improved from 5 to 13% for cotton grains and from 14 to 29% for maize grains compared to the treatment with compost. Compared to the addition of compost with 150 kg.ha^-1 of NPK, co-composted biochar allow to reduce by one third the use of NPK (to 100 kg.ha^-1) while keeping the grain yield higher. The biochar associated with the composting process is an interesting opportunity to improve the quality parameters of highly leached soils responsible for increasing grain yields of cotton and maize crops in western Burkina Faso. Activating biochar with compost is a promising process allowing to amend soil with very low dose of biochar (<0.5 T.ha^-1 per year) while acting as an affordable alternative for the management of soil resources..

Keywords: Biochar, co-compost, soil fertility, nutrient recycling.

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

Keywords: Biochar, co-compost, soil fertility, nutrient recycling.