Effect of tillage and organic matter quality on sorghum fertilizer use and water use efficiency in semi-arid West Africa.

A field experiment was conducted in Gampela (Burkina Faso) in 2000 and 2001 to assess the impact of organic and mineral sources of nutrients and combinations thereof in optimizing crop production under till and no-till and to assess the economic benefit of that option. At a dose equivalent to 40 kg N/ha, crop yield was better secured with organic-N than with urea-N. Combining organic and mineral sources of nutrients do not have only additive effects but real interaction, which significantly affect crop yield and water use efficiency. The use of soil and water management measures is a key to increase the economic benefit of mineral, organic or combined organic and mineral sources of nutrient application under semi-arid conditions.