ISSN 2375-1185
African Journal of Agronomy ISSN: 2375-1185 Vol. 12 (6), pp. 001-011, June, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Effect of optimizing organic fertilizer doses on Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) production in Mali
Guindo Moumini1, Coulibaly Alou2, Traoré Bouba1,3, * and Birhanu Zemadim Birhanu4
1Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Centre Régional de la Recherche Agronomique de Sikasso, BP 16, Mali; [email protected]; [email protected], (M.G)
2Institut Polytechnique Rurale de Formation et de Recherche appliquée (IPR/IFRA) de Katibougou, BP 06, Koulikoro, Mali; [email protected], (A.C)
3International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT); [email protected] (B.T.), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4458-6440
4International Water Management Institute (IWMI), PMB CT 112, Accra, Ghana; ([email protected]) (B.Z.B), ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3497-2364; Auteur correspondant: [email protected]; (+223)76084540 / 65886834.
Received 22 February, 2024; Accepted 21 April, 2024 and Published 19 June, 2024
Abstract
The recommandation of 5 t ha-1 of organic manures (O.M.), whatever the type, is inadequate, given their diversity. The aim of the study is to identify the types of organic manure, the doses used by farmers, determine optimised doses according to their qualities and assess the effect of the different doses on sorghum. A survey of 45 farmers in Koutiala identified, farmyard manure, compost and cattle yard manure as the main manures used. The doses are low, 1.33 t ha-1, 0.88 t ha-1 and 0.25 t ha-1 respectively for these fertilizers. After analyzing NPK in these fertilizers, the optimised doses calculated for the needs of sorghum producing 2 t ha-1 grain were 7.27 t ha-1, 3.20 t ha-1 and 2.18 t ha-1 respectively for the types of organic manure identified. Experimentation with optimised doses of compost and cattle yard manure yielded 2361.5 kg ha-1 of sorghum grain and 9288 kg ha-1 above-ground biomass, similar to the yields obtained with the recommended dose of 5 t ha-1 for organic fertilizer. Farmers need to rethink their organic input practices by adopting optimised doses, while intensifying manure production.
Keywords: Organic manure, manure quality fertilizers, optimized doses, sorghum, yield, Mali.