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Effect of litter from five tropical leaves on millet and corn growth Volume 19, issue 3, juillet-août-septembre 2008

Authors
Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), UR 179, Laboratoire d’écologie microbienne des sols et agrosystèmes tropicaux (Lemsat), Centre ISRA-IRD, Route des hydrocarbures, BP 1386 CP, Dakar, Sénégal, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Laboratoire MOST, Unité de recherche séquestration du carbone et bio-fonctionnement des sols (UR SeqBio), Ensam, 2 place Viala, Bâtiment 12, 34060 Montpellier cedex 1, France, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Département de biologie végétale, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, BP 5005, Dakar, Sénégal

The aim of this study was to follow the effect of five leaf litters frequently used in agroforestery plantations in Sudano-Sahelian areas on growth parameters of millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and corn (Zea mays L.) in greenhouse conditions. Litters of Faidherbia albida A. Chev., Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Casuarina equisetifolia Forsk., Andropogon gayanus Kunth. and Eragrostis tremula Steud were mixed at 2 % (dry weight) level concentration in 3 kg polythene pots. Soil and litter mixtures were put in decomposition for 7 months before seeding. The results showed that growth parameters varied according to the quality of residues. F albida leaf litter increased all growth parameters of millet and the height, root and shoot biomass of corn. The litter of A. indica increased shoot biomass and the number of leaves for millet, as well as the height and shoot biomass of corn. In the same way, C equisetifolia leaf litter had a positive effect on millet girth diameter. In contrast, A. gayanus leaf litter decreased the number of corn leaves and root biomass while the E. tremula treatment had the same effect on girth diameter of corn. Leaf litters of F albida and A. indica thus hold a potential to improve crop yield.