Impact of traditional rice cultivation on soil fertility: Incidence of riz (Oryza sativa L.) - maize (Zea mays L.) cropping on some physical properties of ferralsol in the Middle West of Côte d’Ivoire. Rice-maize intercropping is a common practice in traditional rice production system. In order to know the impact of this farming method on soil fertility, an experiment was conducted on a ferralsol of semi-deciduous zone of the Middle West of Côte d’Ivoire. Experimental device is a split-plot, with two factors: rice variety and maize density associated with rice. Study confirmed the changes of soilproperties related to its cultivation. Evolution of morphological characters is observed at the surface horizon (0-25 cm). Color is changed from a very dark gray (10YR 3/1) in a dark strand (10YR 3/4). Horizon thickness was reduced by 50 mm on average, it is related to its compaction and from fine sand. Bulk density average had an increase of 0.003 g / cm3. And, the analysis revealed a positive correlation between this parameter and the density of maize associated with rice. At the flowering stage, it was demonstrated that risk of competition for water increases with maize density. Therefore, the best rice yields are obtained on low maize densities in the association, between 5000 and 20,000 plants / ha.
