Abstract
ABSTRACT Inadequate soil moisture and poor soil fertility remain the major constraints to successful crop production in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. On-farm experiments to determine the effects of ridge-till (RT) system with cattle manure or inorganic fertilizer on yields of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) were done in Chivi communal areas in semi-arid natural region IV of Zimbabwe in 1995/96 and 1996/97. Ridge-till reduced yields (P < 0.01) by 215% (340 vs. 1070 kg ha−1) at 0 t ha −1 and 40% (770 vs. 1080 kg ha −1) at 10 t ha −1 manure levels on a sandy soil in 1995/96. On a sandy clay soil, RT increased (P < 0.01) grain yields by 172% (1630 vs. 600 kg ha−1) at 0 t ha−1, by 113% (2070 vs. 970) at 10 t ha−1, and by 144% (2390 vs. 1200 kg ha −1) at 20 t ha −1 in 1995/96. Our study show that with or without fertilizers, RT is better than FT on sandy clay soils in seasons with normal (450 to 500 mm) annual rainfall in natural region IV.
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