Changement climatique et production cotonnière au Sénégal: Concevoir autrement les stratégies de diffusion des variétés

Abstract

Description of the subject. Climate change challenges the strategy of varietal diffusion, employed by the Senegalese cotton company (SODEFITEX), based on the distinction of two cultivars: one adapted to humid conditions and the other to drought. Based on data collected in an experimental station and farmer plots from 2004 to 2011, the study provides an assessment of that strategy. Objectives. The aim of the study was to evaluate both the methodology used for varietal selection and the performance of released and candidate cultivars, under contrasted water environments due to variability in rainfall (spatial and temporal) and crop management. Method. The methodology used allowed the identification of the occurrence of severe water stress during the critical cotton development phases (flowering and boll development) and its effect on seed cotton yield and fiber quality. The resulting indicator of plant water status was then inserted into our statistical analysis as an environmental covariate. Results. The resulting indicator allowed the discrimination of seed cotton yield in the experimental station as well as in on-farm experiments. Despite an effect of cultivar on ginning outturn and fiber quality, all cultivars showed similar resilience to water status. Conclusions. Despite a lack of cultivar adaptation to water stress, results support the adoption of a single cultivar in the whole production basin. However, the diffusion strategy would benefit from a better consideration of farmer cropping conditions, which would thus allow for the evaluation of cultivars by the producers.