Influence of long-term organic and mineral fertilization on soil nematofauna when growing Sorghum bicolor in Burkina Faso

Abstract

Soil degradation has led crop yield to decline in many Sahelian countries and is a fundamental agricultural and economical threat for local populations. In Saria, Burkina Faso, long-term experiments are being performed to find efficient soil management practices that could improve soil fertility. A randomized block experiment comprising organic amendment (unamended control, straw at 8.3 t ha−1, manure at 10 t ha−1) coupled with mineral fertilization (no urea, urea at 60 kg ha−1) was started in 1980 with a continuous sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) cropping system. Twenty-six years after the settlement of the treatments, we compared their effects on nematode populations, community structure, and ecological indices, as well as soil physical and chemical properties at three stages of sorghum’s cropping cycle.