Influence of organo-mineral fertilization rate on agronomic performance of Sanio Millet (Pennisetum Glaucum (L.) R. Br.) in Lower Casamance (Southern Africa)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to contribute to the promotion of a sustainable production of Sanio millet in Lower Casamance. This was done by defining the best combination of organic and mineral fertilization levels for optimal and environmentally friendly growth and production of Sanio millet. The system used is a randomized complete block design with four replications or blocks. The studied factor is the organic-mineral fertilization resulting from the combination of the sub-factors compost with three application rates (0t. ha-1; 5t/ha; 7.5t. ha-1) and the mineral nitrogen fertilization with also three application rates (0%, 50% and 100% of the recommended mineral fertilization). The results showed that the interaction between compost and mineral fertilizer was significant on all the parameters studied except for the number of ears. ha-1 and grain yield. Overall, treatment T8 (7.5 t. ha-1 of compost + 100% recommended mineral fertilization) gave the best results for height (186.29 cm), crown diameter (14.08 mm), number of leaves (39 leaves/plant), straw biomass (7.288 t. ha-1), spike biomass (1.219 t. ha-1) and grain yield (0.7781 t. ha-1) On the other hand, treatment T5 (5 t. ha-1 of compost + 100% recommended mineral fertilization) gave the best result for the number of tillers with 14 tillers/m². Compost alone (T3 and T6) improved thousand kernel weight with 5.98 g for T3 and 6.22 g for T6. In the context of sustainable management of soil fertility and improvement of millet production in Lower Casamance, the combination of 7.5 t. ha-1 of compost and 100% of the recommended dose of mineral fertilizer would be a practice to be experimented in a farming environment.