Diagnosis of Farmers' Sowing Practices for Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) to Improve Plant Density per Hectare in Mali
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/aivp.1305.19229Keywords:
Cotton, sowing density, cultural practices, MaliAbstract
In Mali, cotton production faces a number of constraints that partly limit its yield. The low planting density is the most significant of these constraints. The objective of the study is to identify practices that are more or less suitable for improving cotton planting density in the field. A quantitative and qualitative survey of current sowing densities on farms in Mali's cotton-producing zones was carried out among 300 farmers in 20 villages. Simple descriptive statistics, frequencies or percentages, and analyses of variance were applied to the data collected to determine means, significance of differences between means, and other parameters. The results showed low densities, with an average of 44,200 plants per hectare, well below the recommended density of 83,333 plants per hectare. The best practices identified included using recent generation seed (R1) (57,600 plants/ha), fungicide treatment of the seed before sowing (56,500 plants/ha), sowing after scraping the plot (54,500 plants/ha), and sowing with a drill (53,100 plants/ha). Low densities were recorded with the use of two types of mixed seed (delinted and undelinted) (25,600 plants/ha), the use of the old seed variety NTA 90-5 (25,600 plants/ha), and children removing seedlings (27,400 seedlings/ha). The results show that the low densities are linked more to practices than to the climatic conditions often mentioned.
References
Westerberg, V., Diarra, A., Diallo, H., Diallo, S., Koné, B., Domergues, M., Keïta, O., Doku, A., Di Falco, S., 2020. L’économie de la production du coton au Mali et les enjeux de la dégradation des terres : Cas d’étude à Koutiala et Bougouni (Rapport de l’Initiative ELD dans le cadre du projet « Inverser la dégradation des terres en Afrique par l’adoption à grande échelle de l’agroforesterie ») Mali, 64 p CMDT (Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement Textile), 2022. Evolution of cotton production over 6 years. https://cmdt-mali.net/index.php?view=category&id=9 accessed 03/04/2025
CMDT, (Compagnie Malienne pour le Développement Textile), 2000. Development of technical alternatives for fertility management and cotton-based cropping systems (Agricultural Survey). IER/CMDT/OHVN, Station de N’Tarla, 30 p.
Sanou, E.I.R., 2011. Study of the yield components of transgenic cotton in agrosystems of western Burkina Faso: case of the Daboura, Gombélédougou and Sidéradougou zones. Thesis, Polytechnic University of Bobo-Dioulasso. (UPB) 78 p. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20486.52801
Hermann, M.B.H., Moumouni, I., Tokore Orou Mere, S.B.J., 2016. Contribution to improving sustainable cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) production practices in Benin: the case of the Banikoara district. Int. J. Bio. Chem. Sci 9(5), 2401–2413. https://doi.org/10.4314/ijbcs.v9i5.12
Fok, M., 2007. Multifactorial analysis of cotton yield decline in the CMDT zone: from physiology to ideology, Cirad. Montpellier 160 p.
Soumaré, M., 2008. Dynamics and sustainability of cotton-based agrarian systems in Mali (Doctoral dissertation: Human, economic and regional geography). Université de Paris-Nanterre, France, 372 p Diawara, H., 2019. Analysis of Contemporary Evolution of Air Temperature and Precipitation in Mali. European Scientific Journal ESJ 15(2). https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2019.v15n2p154
IER, 1990. Memento of cultivation techniques for agricultural supervisors, 124 p. ISNB: 978-90-6832-038-1 Šarauskis, E., Buragienė, S., Masilionytė, L., Romaneckas, K., Avižienytė, D., Sakalauskas, A., 2014. Energy balance, costs and CO2 analysis of tillage technologies in maize cultivation. Energy 69, 227–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.02.090
Boko, C.S.A., Bagan, G.C., Fandohan, A.B., 2021. Impacts of conventional plowing on cotton yields in the district of Kétou, Benin. Rev. Mar. Sci. Agron. Vét. 9(1), 115–122
IER, CMDT, OHVN, 2003. Concertation meeting IER-CMDT-OHVN 19, 20, 21 February 2003 N’Tarla (Meeting report). IER, N’Tarla/Koutiala. 26 p.
Cretenet, M., Dessauw, D., 2006. Production of quality seedcotton. Quality manual for the cotton industry. UEMOA. UNIDO Publication, Impression Svi-Publicep (34, France), 116 p Ashburner, J.E, Ashburner, J, 2011. Review of public and private sector mechanization models. In: Investments in agricultural mechanization in Africa (Technical report on agricultural and food engineering). (Eds.), FAO, Rome p 51-58.
Bono, M., 1980. Multiplication of tropical food seeds, Fondation de France. ed, Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation, 445 p.
Amonmidé, I., Fayalo, G.D., Dagbenonbakin, G.D., 2020. Effect of sowing period and density on cotton growth and yield in Benin. Journal of Applied Biosciences 152, 15676–15697. https://doi.org/10.35759/JABs.152.7
Sissoko, S., Diawara, M.O., Kassambara, E.M., Bayoko, G., Coulibaly, M.M., 2023. Correlations between some morpho-physiological and agronomic traits of cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L) varieties grown in two agroecological areas of Mali. ÈKOBIOTEH 6(1), 14–23. https://doi.org/10.31163/2618-964X-2023-6-1-14-23
Ciampitti, I.A., Xia, Y., Camberato, J., Vyn, T.J., 2011. Plant density consequences on nitrogen uptake dynamics of maize plants from vegetative to reproductive stages. Field Crops Research 121, 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2010.10.009
Jagannathan, N., Venkitaswamy, R., 1996. Effect of plant density and nutrient levels on new cotton varieties. Madras Agricultural Journal 83(3), 159–160
Shah, S., Khan, M., Sajjad, T., Malik, W., 2005. Effect of various plant populations on seed cotton yield and other yield components. Indus Cottons 2(3), 216–218
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sory Sissoko, Bandiougou Dembele, Aliou D. Maïga, Moussa Dembele, Marine Rueff, Mamy Soumare
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
