Mucuna en culture pure à Bantè (ProSOL)

Mucuna en culture de couverture pour améliorer la fertilité du sol (Benin)

Description

Le Mucuna (Mucuna pruriens) est une légumineuse herbacée annuelle que nous avonsutilisé comme plante de couverture pour restaurer la fertilité du sol. En plus de sacapacité à fi xer l’azote dans le sol, la bonne couverture végétale constitue un mulchépais qui contribue a restaurer la matière organique du sol, à capter l’eau de pluie etprotéger le sol de l’érosion et à contrôler les adventices.

La technologie du Mucuna en pure est appliquée par les producteurs sur des sols pauvres,enherbés (présence d’Imperata, de Striga…) ou sur des sols moyennement riches. Ils'accommode de sols sableux, argileux et même des sols très acidifi és. Il est sensible aux solshydromorphes mais la variété Cochinchinensis (de couleur blanche) supporte les solstemporairement inondables.
Dans sa mise en place en culture pure, les producteurs sèment deux graines par poquet à unécartement de 0,80m entre lignes et 0,40m entre plants sur la ligne, ce qui nécessite 30 kg/hade semence. Pour la première campagne lors du démarrage des appuis du projet, lessemences ont été mise à la disposition des producteurs. A partir de la deuxième année, lesproducteurs se sont procurés en semences auprès de producteurs pairs. Le semis a lieu audébut de la saison de pluies et la durée de leur cycle varie de 100 à 300 jours.
Pour l’entretien, après une bonne levée et suivant l’appréciation du degré d’enherbement, lesproducteurs sarclent une ou deux fois au plus les champs de mucuna. Cet entretien donnel’avantage à la légumineuse améliorante de bien s’établir pour couvrir et dominer lesmauvaises herbes. Pour améliorer leur productivité, les producteurs laissent des piedsd’arbres dans les champs. Ces derniers servent de tuteurs et contribuent à augmenter lenombre d'infl orescences par plante, le nombre de fl eurs par infl orescence, le nombre degraines par gousses et le taux de germination des graines récoltées. Le mucuna meurtnaturellement après avoir produit des graines.
Les producteurs accompagnés constatent une amélioration des rendements des culturesinstallées après le mucuna. Ainsi par exemple pour le maïs, le rendement oscille autour de2,5 à 3 tonnes à l’hectare s’il est installé sur un terrain ayant précédemment accueilli lemucuna contre 1,5 tonne pour un sol ordinaire. C’est pourquoi les producteurs l’appellent « laPlante Miracle ». A l’hectare, les producteurs ont un rendement moyen de 800kg de graines demucuna. Ce rendement pourrait atteindre la tonne si les conditions climatiques y sontfavorables et les entretiens sont faits à temps. De façon synthétique, le mucuna a des eff etspositifs sur diverses composantes du sol qui se présentent comme ci-après.
Entre autres avantages remarqués par les producteurs, il y a la très bonne conservation del’humidité du sol, la protection du sol contre les rayons solaires, l’amélioration de la viemicrobienne mais aussi une ource de matière organique. Aussi, constatent-ils une bonneaération du sol, bien meuble et poreux. Les feuilles constituent un bon fourrage pour lesanimaux notamment les moutons en stabulation qui sont vendus à l'occasion de la fête deTabaski.
La plupart des producteurs préfèrent plus la capacité de mucuna à détruire les adventices(striga, impérata indica) et sa capacité à restaurer le sol en ses éléments nutritifs. Toutefois,le mucuna présente certains inconvénients dès qu’il est installé. Il constitue un lieu de refugepour les reptiles en occurrence les serpents.

Location

Location: Bantè, Donga, Benin

No. of Technology sites analysed: single site

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 1.88226, 8.45202

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (1.0 km²)

In a permanently protected area?: Nee

Date of implementation: 2016

Type of introduction
Gousse mucuna (ProSOL Bénin)
-

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
Land use
Land use mixed within the same land unit: Nee

  • Cropland
    • Annual cropping: cereals - maize, oilseed crops - groundnuts
    Number of growing seasons per year: 1
    Is intercropping practiced? Nee
    Is crop rotation practiced? Ja
Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation

Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion
  • soil erosion by wind - Et: loss of topsoil
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
  • biological degradation - Bc: reduction of vegetation cover, Bq: quantity/ biomass decline, Bl: loss of soil life
SLM group
  • rotational systems (crop rotation, fallows, shifting cultivation)
  • improved ground/ vegetation cover
  • integrated soil fertility management
SLM measures
  • agronomic measures - A1: Vegetation/ soil cover, A2: Organic matter/ soil fertility, A3: Soil surface treatment (A 3.1: No tillage)
  • management measures - M1: Change of land use type

Technical drawing

Technical specifications
In our region, the annual rainfall is 1323 mm and average temperatures during the growing season range around 19.5°C from May to October. These conditions fall within the optimal range of 1000 to 2500 mm of rainfall and temperatures between 19 to 27°C, which are favorable for the growth of the Mucuna plant.
For planting, we adopt a spacing arrangement of 0.4m x 0.8m between seedlings, both within clusters and across rows. During the sowing process, 2 to 3 seeds are typically placed per planting bed, resulting in an average density ranging from 23,437 to 93,750 plants per hectare. The recommended quantity of seeds for one hectare is approximately 25 to 30 kg. For optimal growth and development, it is advisable to sow the seeds between June and July at the latest.
Author: ProSOL Bénin

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated: per Technology area (size and area unit: 1ha)
  • Currency used for cost calculation: CFA F
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 615.0 CFA F
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: n.a
Most important factors affecting the costs
Paid labor for harvesting is a limiting factor.
Establishment activities
  1. Clearing (Timing/ frequency: May-June)
  2. Plowing (Timing/ frequency: June-July)
  3. Seeding (Timing/ frequency: June-July)
Establishment inputs and costs (per 1ha)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (CFA F) Total costs per input (CFA F) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Clearing ha 1.0 17500.0 17500.0 100.0
Plowing ha 1.0 25000.0 25000.0 100.0
Seeding ha 1.0 10000.0 10000.0 100.0
ha 1.0 20000.0 20000.0 100.0
Equipment
100.0
100.0
Daba Unit 1.0 4000.0 4000.0 100.0
Houe Unit 1.0 3000.0 3000.0 100.0
Plant material
Seeds Kilogram 30.0 500.0 15000.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 94'500.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 153.66
Maintenance activities
  1. Weeding (Timing/ frequency: July-August)
  2. Harvest (Timing/ frequency: November-December)
  3. Threshing (Timing/ frequency: December)
  4. Firewalling (Timing/ frequency: November-December)
Maintenance inputs and costs (per 1ha)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (CFA F) Total costs per input (CFA F) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Weeding ha 1.0 20000.0 20000.0 100.0
Harvest ha 1.0 12500.0 12500.0 100.0
Threshing ha 1.0 12500.0 12500.0 100.0
Firewalling ha 1.0 12500.0 12500.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 57'500.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 93.5

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
Average annual rainfall in mm: 1323.0
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to: ground water
Is salinity a problem?
  • Ja
  • Nee

Occurrence of flooding
  • Ja
  • Nee
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
x
good
education

poor
x
good
technical assistance

poor
x
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
x
good
markets

poor
x
good
energy

poor
x
good
roads and transport

poor
x
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
x
good
financial services

poor
x
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
x
increased

Quantity before SLM: 500 kg/ha
Quantity after SLM: 3t/ha
500 kg/ha of maize (for a plot without Mucuna), 3 t/ha of maize (for a plot with Mucuna)

crop quality
decreased
x
increased


The products are naturally enhanced and not reliant on chemical fertilizers.

fodder production
decreased
x
increased


The leaves provide valuable fodder for animals, especially stalled sheep, which are sold at Tabaski (Eid al-Adha).

production area (new land under cultivation/ use)
decreased
x
increased


Implementing this system has enabled the expansion of maize production on land that was previously deemed highly infertile.

land management
hindered
x
simplified

farm income
decreased
x
increased


Improved yields and no recourse to mineral fertilizers

Socio-cultural impacts
health situation
worsened
x
improved


Enhanced yields translate to increased earnings for producers, allowing them the means to afford better care

SLM/ land degradation knowledge
reduced
x
improved

Ecological impacts
soil moisture
decreased
x
increased


The mulch supplied by Mucuna contributes to effective soil moisture conservation.

soil cover
reduced
x
improved


Mucuna serves as a protective shield for the soil, shielding it from the direct rays of the sun.

soil loss
increased
x
decreased


Improves soil fertility

soil organic matter/ below ground C
decreased
x
increased


Contributes enormously to improving soil fertility, hence its nickname of "Miracle Plant".

vegetation cover
decreased
x
increased

biomass/ above ground C
decreased
x
increased

invasive alien species
increased
x
reduced


Mucuna restricts and impedes the growth of weeds.

wind velocity
increased
x
decreased

micro-climate
worsened
x
improved

Off-site impacts

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
x
very well
seasonal temperature increase

not well at all
x
very well
Season: dry season
annual rainfall increase

not well at all
x
very well
seasonal rainfall increase

not well at all
x
very well
Season: dry season
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
drought

not well at all
x
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Ja
  • Nee
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • Improved soil fertility
  • Improved yields
  • Reduced erosion
  • Weed control capacity
  • Soil moisture retention capacity
  • Animal feed (ruminants)
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • Enhanced microbial life
  • Soil moisture conservation
  • Increased biomass forming green manure
  • Reduced expenditure on agricultural inputs
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • Very slow rate of soil restoration Gradually focus on planting Mucuna in areas with soil deficiencies
  • Reptile attraction Wear boots and gloves
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • Maintenance difficulties, sudden bursting of pods Harvesting before the Harmattan sets in

References

Compiler
  • Gatien AGBOKOUN CHRISTOPHE
Editors
  • Siagbé Golli
  • Abdoul Karim MIEN
  • DOSSOU-YOVO bernardin
  • Oscar Assa KINDEMIN
  • Bona Ibouratou DAFIA
  • Tabitha Nekesa
  • Ahmadou Gaye
Reviewer
  • Sally Bunning
  • Rima Mekdaschi Studer
  • William Critchley
Date of documentation: Maart 12, 2023
Last update: Mei 27, 2024
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
Key references
  • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, 2018, Compendium de fiches techniques du formateur:
  • Amadji F., Ahouanton K., Tarawali S. 2003. Fiche technique illustrée –Mucuna pour une amélioration durable de la fertilité du sol et des rendements au centre et au sud du Bénin. INRAB, ILRI, IITA, 2 p:
  • AZONTONDE A. H., FELLER C., REMY J.-C., 1998. Le mucuna et la restauration des propriétés d'un sol ferraiIitique au sud du Bénin: https://agritrop.cirad.fr/390388/1/document_390388.pdf
  • BALOGOUN I., OGOUDJOBI S. L., OROU BERO E., DAHODO B., VIDINHOUEDE R. et HOUNGNANDAN P., 2022. Performance agronomique du Mucuna pruriens sur la culture du maïs et la fertilité chimique des sols ferralitiques au Sud-Bénin: http://ajol.info/index.php/ijbcs
  • AKLAMAVO M., MENSAH G.A. 1997. Quelques aspects de l'utilisation du mucuna en milieu rural en République du Bénin. Bulletin de la Recherche Agronomique 9 : 34-46.: http://www.slire.net/download/1106/aklamavo_bra_019_1997-3.pdf
  • Barthès B., Azontonde A. et Feller C., 2017. Effets du Mucuna sur la production et la durabilité de systèmes de culture à base de maïs au Sud-Bénin: https://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/24384?lang=fr
  • ALLAGBE M., DJINADOU A. K. A., BANKOLE C., HINVI J., AZELOKONON O., HOUNTONDJI A. Y., ADJANOHOUN A., JALLOH A.; 2015. Association maïs-mucuna pour une gestion durable de l'humidité et de la fertilité des sols au Sud et au Centre du Bénin: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331861866_FICHE_TECHNIQUE_07
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