Impacts of use of conventional tillage tools on cultivated soil in Southern Alibori in Benin

Abstract

The objective of the study was to assess the impact of motorized ploughing tools on the physicochemical and biological properties of the soils in southern Alibori in Benin. The ploughing tools tested were the disc plough for ploughing at 10 cm (CD10) and 20 cm deep (CD20), the moldboard plough at 10 cm (CS10) and 20 cm deep (CS20), the rotavator (Ro) and daba (Ho). A Random Complete Blocks Design constituted of six tools and three replications implemented on Bensékou, Kokey and Banigouré sites over three campaigns. The parameters measured on the ground were water, carbon and nitrogen content, bulk density, available water content and macrofauna biomass. The results showed that the ploughing implements significantly (p < 0.001) reduced the water content by 3 ± 0.25%, the bulk density by 0.2 ± 0.01 g/cm3, the carbon content by 0.6 ± 0.05%, the nitrogen content of 0.02 ± 0.001% and the macrofauna biomass of 0.8 ± 0.07 g/100 cm2 in a 0 - 10 cm layer. In 10 - 20 cm layer, only CS20 and CD20 ameliorated available water content by 4 ± 0.26 mm and nitrogen content by 0.3 ± 0.16% and reduced macrofauna biomass by 0.7 ± 0.09 g/100 cm2. Given the ecology of the cotton plant, the ploughing depth required for good soil preparation is 20 cm.