Effects of tillage practices and planting techniques on crop yield and soil properties in northwestern lowlands of Ethiopia

Autor: Atikilt Abera Alemayehu, Legese Abebaw Getu, Tewodros Samual, Baye Ayalew, Hailu Kendie Addis, Tesfaye Feyisa, Tamirat Worku, Meka Tahir, Edimealem Getu
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, Vol 14, Iss , Pp 100852- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2666-1543
DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100852
Popis: Vertisols are crucial for improving and sustaining food production in Ethiopia. However, due to conventional tillage and waterlogging, the great potential of Vertisols in the study area has been underutilized. Different tillage practices combined with planting techniques play a significant positive role in improving crop yield in high-rainfall areas. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of tillage practices and planting techniques on the productivity of sesame and sorghum in Metema experimental site, in northwestern lowlands of Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted with three replications and six treatments described as: permanent raised bed with minimum tillage (PRB + MT), permanent raised bed with minimum tillage, and mulch (PRB + MT + M), broad bed furrow (BBF), flatbed with minimum tillage and mulch (Flat + MT + M), flatbed with minimum tillage (Flat + MT) and control. The results indicated that the soil moisture content was significantly higher in control (40.77–43.56 %) and flatbeds compared with BBF (39.30–40.39 %) and PRB + MT + M treatments. The bulk density of the soil and organic carbon levels showed significant variations between treatments. The highest bulk density was observed in the control (1.29 Mg m−3) than in PRB + MT (1.12 Mg m−3). In this regard, the highest seed yield of sesame (1138.52 kg ha−1) and grain yield of sorghum (5456.90 kg ha−1) were obtained from BBF and PRB + MT + M respectively. Inversely, the lowest seed yield of sesame (778.77 kg ha−1) and grain yield of sorghum (4052.7 kg ha−1) were obtained from the control plot. Therefore, to improve the productivity of sesame and sorghum, the preparation of BBF and PRB + MT + M should be taken into account.
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