Effects of micro-water harvesting techniques on sesame growth, yield and soil moisture on clay soil in rain fed area

Abstract

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is the major cash crop yearly grown in rain fed areas as alternative to Sorghum crop, but their grain yield is remarkably reduced by soil moisture stress when cultivated in cracking clay soil under semi-arid climate. This require employing good Vertisol water management practices that conserve moisture during dry spell period and excess moisture during wet periods. Possible practice to adopt is to utilize relevant water harvesting technique. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the performance of three water harvesting methods namely: semi-circular bund, ridge and furrow, and sowing on flat soil surface, on soil moisture distribution and Sesame crop growth attributes (Days to 50% flowering, days to 90%maturity, number of branches per plant, and plant height). Yield Attributes (number of seeds per capsule, thousand seed weight,) and seed yield (Weight per unit area). The field study was conducted at El Migrih in Butana rain fed area during 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 growing seasons in vertisol soil type. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications using variety Khidir. Statistical analysis revealed that water harvesting techniques had a significant effect on soil moisture and agronomic parameters. The ridge and furrow method conserved best soil moisture resulting in the highest sesame seed yield (548 kg ha-1) while the lowest yield (390 kg ha -1) was obtained with flat traditional method.