Weed Responses to Agroecological Practices in Sorghum-Cowpea Intercropping Systems in the Sudano-Sahelian Zone of Burkina Faso

This study investigates how agroecological practices such as ridge tillage and organic fertilization, influence weed species richness and development within sorghum-cowpea intercropping systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Burkina Faso. A split-split plot field experiment conducted over two cropping seasons evaluated weed species richness, ground cover, and biomass under three tillage methods, four cropping systems, and four fertilization treatments. Data analyses were performed in R program using canonical correspondence analysis, permutational multivariate analysis of variance, IndVal method and generalized linear models. Results indicated that ridge tillage maintains the highest characteristic species richness (three species) but achieves the greatest reduction in weed biomass and ground cover. Indeed, ridge tillage showed the greatest reduction in weed biomass (17.59 ± 13.70 g.m−2), decreasing weed biomass by 34% relative to conventional tillage and 33% relative to no-tillage. Additionally, mineral fertilization alone resulted in the highest weed ground cover representing increases of 35% compared to the unfertilized control and 18% compared to compost alone. Compost-based fertilization mitigated weed proliferation, demonstrating lower ground cover values. These results support the adoption of ridge tillage and organic fertilization as integrated weed management strategies, aligning with agroecological principles to enhance sustainability and resilience in West African smallholder farming systems.