Abstract
A field experiment was conducted under natural rainfall conditions to investigate the effects of farmyard manure and straw mulch on runoff, soil loss, in-situ water conservation, and the yield and yield components of an improved bread wheat variety (HAR-1480) grown on vertisol of Sinana area, south eastern Ethiopian highland. The experimental design used was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with seven treatments involving three levels of farmyard manure (2, 4 and 6 ton ha-1), three levels of barley straw mulch (2, 4 and 6 ton ha-1), and a control without manure and mulch that were replicated three times. The results revealed that there was a highly significant difference (P<0.0001) between the treatments regarding their effect on runoff depth, soil loss and in-situ water conservation. However, there was no significant difference in grain yield due to the treatments. Moreover, compared to straw mulch, manuring was found to be less effective in reducing runoff and soil loss in the first season of application. Additionally, the soil loss measured for all strawmulch rates were not significantly different, implying that the 2 ton ha-1 mulching rate can effectively check soil erosion under the existing slope and rainfall conditions of the study area. Key words: Bale highland, runoff depth, soil conservation, grain yield, sediment concentration.
Highlights
Soil erosion is second only to population growth as the biggest environmental problem that threatens agriculture in Africa and other parts of the world (Eswaran et al, 2001)
Considerable efforts have been made in the past to arrest large scale soil erosion, but the major emphasis was given to mechanical soil and water conservation measures in arable lands with little attention to soil organic matter depletion, soil fertility decline, soil physico-chemical and biological degradation
The results further revealed that manure application was less effective in reducing runoff as compared to straw mulching
Summary
Soil erosion is second only to population growth as the biggest environmental problem that threatens agriculture in Africa and other parts of the world (Eswaran et al, 2001). The problem is becoming increasingly more urgent in developing countries like Ethiopia where the vast majority of the population are dependent on agriculture. According to El-Swaify and Hurni (1996), the Ethiopian highlands that make up 46% of the total land area of the country with over 95% of the regularly cropped land, constitute one of the most degraded lands in Africa. This accelerated soil erosion aggravated the problem of soil fertility depletion by removing organic carbon and other essential plant nutrients and exacerbated household and national food insecurity, thereby negatively impacting on development efforts underway in the country. Considerable efforts have been made in the past to arrest large scale soil erosion, but the major emphasis was given to mechanical soil and water conservation measures in arable lands with little attention to soil organic matter depletion, soil fertility decline, soil physico-chemical and biological degradation
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