S.E. BarroNational Soils Bureau
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
BP 7142, Guaga, Burkina Faso
Vertisols in Burkina Faso are of the lithomorphic and topomorphic types. They are found throughout the country, mainly located in plains with a high hydro-agricultural potential. Their mineral and clay contents are high but they are deficient in N. P and K; their physical properties make tillage with traditional implements difficult.
The use of these soils in Burkina Faso has, for a long time, been limited to sorghum, maize, cotton and rice production on Vertisols with a granular structure in the upper horizon, and to dry-season grazing on hydromorphic Vertisols. As a result of the activities of the Autorite de l'menagement des Vallees des Volta, use of these Vertisols has been intensified.
IRAT and CERCI trials have shown that strategic use of fertilizer and manure, and adequate selection and rotation of appropriate crops, can lead to yields two to five times greater than those obtained on farmers' fields. Irrigation increases productivity of forage crops grown on Vertisols. On Vertisols in Sourou, Vigna unguiculata, Desmodium distortum and Stylosanthes gracilis performed well under irrigated farming, and S. hamata and Cendrus ciliaris under dry farming.
