Responses of Cotton Crop to use of Different Conventional Tillage Tools in South Alibori Area in Benin

Abstract

This study aims to assess the influence of the use of motorized plowing tools on cotton development in the South Alibori area in Benin. The plowing tools tested were the disc plow for plowing at 10 cm (CD10) and 20 cm depth (CD20), the moldboard plow at 10 cm (CS10) and 20 cm depth (CS20), the rotavator (Ro) and daba (Ho). A Random Complete Blocks Design constituted of six tools and three replications were implemented on Bensékou, Kokey, and Banigouré sites and were repeated over two campaigns between 2019 and 2021. The results showed that compared with daba, root and stem length increased respectively by 1.1±0.77 cm and 16±2.5 cm with CD10 and CS10 and by 2.5±0.77 cm and 34±1.84 cm with CS20 and CD20. Ramifications and diameter of root and stem were significantly increased with CD20 and CS20 treatments (p˂0.05). Compared with daba, CD10, and CS10 on the one hand, CS20 and CD20 improved the cotton fiber yield by 1.4±0.42 q/ha and 2.7±0.42 q/ha respectively. For both campaigns, plowing at 20 cm depth is recommended for soil preparation for cotton growing.