Sustainability of Endogenous Farming Practices in Controlling Plants Diseases: Case of Seeding Density on Macrophomina phaseolina

Abstract

In Niger, one of the endogenous farming practices adopted by small-scale farmers to control severe damping-off and improve the plant stands of cowpea is high seeding density. This study aims to evaluate the effect of this practice in controlling the charcoal rot of cowpea caused by Macrophomina phaseolina. The field experiment consisted of; plots sown at a density of 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds per planting hole was conducted at AGRHYMET Regional Centre of Niamey. The results showed that 10 days after sowing. the plant stand was significantly higher in plots sown with one seed per planting hole (83%) whilst the plots sown with 3 and 4 seeds per planting hole had the lowest plant stand (63%). The plots with seeding densities 4 and 3 seeds per planting hole recorded the highest incidence of the disease at the harvest period with 44% and 33% of dead plants respectively. Furthermore, in the plots sown with 4 seeds per planting hole, the soil inoculum density of M. phaseolina per square meter) was the highest (21680 sclerotia/m2). The seeding density did affect also the pod and grain average yield of cowpea, as plots with high seeding densities performed significantly less than the ones with low densities. Consequently, the endogenous farming practices consisting of increasing the number of seed per planting hole is not relevant in reducing the soil inoculum and the incidence of M. phaseolina.