OAR@ICRISATImproving crop-livestock productivity and household income through the use of contour bunding and agroforestry optionsKTraoreauthorBZemadimauthorA field study was carried out at Kani, Noupinesso, and Mpessoba in the Soudano-Sahelian zone of Mali to assess the impact of tillage, soil fertilization, and leguminous crops on runoff, soil erosion, soil moisture, and the growth and yield of cotton, sorghum, and fast-growing tree species. Experiments of 2 types were conducted. The treatments for the first trial consisted of 2 tillage practices (contour bunding (CB) and no contour bunding (NCB) which was the farmers’ practice) and 4 types of soil fertilization on cotton (control, organic manure, micro-dose, and recommended dose). The same trial was conducted on 6 different farms. The second trial consisted of 2 tillage practices (CB and NCB) and 3 cultural systems; (sorghum sole crop, soybean sole crop, and intercropped sorghum*soybean); the same trial was conducted on 9 different farms and in the Technology Park of Mpessoba. The experiment was laid out in a Split Plot with 4 replications. CB out-yielded NCB in all the measured parameters. The percentage of runoff coefficient in NCB plots was 34.89 - 38.79% and was decreased by CB to 17.46 - 21.48%. CB increased the water table dynamic at Noupinesso; the distance of groundwater to soil surface decreased to attain a minimum value of 2.61 m for the measuring tubes in the CB plot, 4.58 m in the NCB plot, and 1.02 m next to the outlet of the watershed. CB increased soil moisture in the horizon 0 - 100 cm at the 3 sites. The differences were high at the horizon 60-100 cm and at the end of the rainy season. The soil horizon (0 - 100 cm) under trees was slightly more humid than outside the trees in NCB, and the difference was higher in the CB plot. Organic manure increased cotton yield by 25.3% in Remon Sanou’s field, biomass yield by 29.66% in the field of Salif Berthe, cotton height and diameter by 72.36% and 34.54% in the trial of Barnabe Traore. The application of manure produced significantly (p < 0.05) less cotton growth and production than the applications of micro-dose (T3) and scale doses (T4). The T4 increased cotton yield by 144.79% and T3 by 130.21% in Bourama Dembele’s field, and biomass yield by 99.03% and 93.70% respectively in Sekou Berthe’s field. The use of CB technology significantly affected the growth and yields of cotton for all the 6 trials. in the field of Barnabe Traore cotton yield was higher by 42.5% in the CB plot compared to the NCB. Cotton height with CB increased by 29.30% in the trial of Bourama Dembele. Micro-dose treatment gave the best profitability as indicated by the VCR in the range of 4 to 8 for the 6 trials. Intercropping soybean and sorghum increased sorghum growth and yields for all the 9 trials. In some of the trials, yields of sorghum associated with soybean got more than twice the yields of sorghum cultivated alone. The trial of Youssouf Berthe give 1138 kg ha-1 grain yield with sole sorghum cultivation and 2325 kg ha-1 for the intercrop. The use of tillage methods affected sorghum and soybean growth and yields for all the 9 trials: the use of the CB method increased grain and biomass yield of sorghum and soybean by 50% and their height and diameter by 30%. The CB technology increased the growth of Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala at the three research sites. Height (+35%), diameter (+25%), and crown radius (+40%) were increased in Gliricidia and in Leucaena by +58%, +69%, and +50% respectively. Key words: contour bunding, runoff and erosion, soil moisture, water table, micro-dose, intercropping, fodder plants.LivestockCropping and Farming SystemsWater Conservation2019-03International Institute of Tropical AgricultureMonograph

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