In the north of Cote d'Ivoire, the rural economy is heavily dependent on cotton cultivation which is characterized by low yield. One of the main causes of low productivity is low level of soil fertility caused by erosion. The stone barriers technique is used to fight against erosion and to improve soil fertility. This work was carried out to assess the effects during 1-year-old stone barriers on selected soil physicochemical properties on two geographical locations where soil samples from 0 to 30 cm depth were selected. A total of 60 composite soil samples (30 × 2) were collected. One year after installing the stone bunds in cotton cultivation, the soil was sampled under the same conditions. The soil samples were analyzed for pH (H 2 O), organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (Av.P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchange bases (Ca, K, Mg, Na) and particle size (clay, coarse silt and sand) contents. The results show that the stone bunds significantly increased the water pH, the soil levels of calcium, magnesium, silt and coarse sand. On the other hand, they significantly lowered the levels of assimilable phosphorus, clay and fine sand in soils. CEC and soil carbon, nitrogen, potassium, sodium and fine silt content did not vary significantly. This study must be repeated in the years to come in order to determine the impact of stone barriers in the medium and long term on soil fertility in the north of Côte d'Ivoire.

The work was conducted in the north of Cote d’Ivoire, central pivot cotton production savannah area, to make the diagnosis of soil fertility for cotton cropping. Cotton cropping, the mainstay of the savannah's economy, suffered from low productivity in relation to the soils chemical properties. Prior cultivation, soils samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 30 cm, collecting 32 simple samples to generate a complete sample. The samples were sent to the soil laboratory to measure the pH unities, CEC, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese contents. In order to facilitate the interpretation of analysis results, the nutrients critical level recommended for optimum production of cotton were used. Results showed that soils had pH ranging from 4.4 to 6.4. On the other hand, the need to add nitrogen, magnesium and phosphorus to the soils and to augment the low carbon, calcium and potassium content. There is the need to search for fertilizer formulations with nitrogen, magnesium phosphorus and calcium for the Cote d'Ivoire cotton belt.