Abstract
A feasibility study was carried out to assess the suitability of Allaideghe plains, located in middle awash valley, for the cultivation of sugarcane plantation. The project area, covering 38000 ha, lies between 9o 07’ to 9o 26’ N latitude and 40o 30’ to 40o 50’ E longitude. A detailed soil survey was carried out on 500 m x 500 m grid consisting 1520 auger holes and 76 soil profile observations. The soils of the entire project area were very deep (>200 cm). The textural classes included silty clay loam, clay and heavy clay which revealed that texture varied from fine to very fine with high clay content. Soil reaction (pH), electrical conductivity of saturated extract (ECe), exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic carbon (OC), CaCO3 ranged between 7.7 to 8.2, 0.9 to 8.0 dS m-1, 9.9 to 42.7%, 40.6 to 61.7 cmol (+) kg-1, 0.3 to 1.2 g kg-1, and 8.3 to 18.3 %, respectively. Soluble cation contents of Na, Mg, Ca and K varied from 8.5 to 20.2, 0.2 to 2.6, 4.7 to 12.6, and 0.1 to 0.2 meq l-1, respectively. Major hydraulic properties influencing water availability and irrigation scheduling for sugarcane included infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity. Basic infiltration rate varied from 0.2 to 6.2 cm h-1 and in-situ hydraulic conductivity varied from 0.07 to 0.60 m d-1. Low hydraulic conductivity may cause waterlogging in the project area. In order to improve soil structure and water availability, addition of gypsum, plant residues and organic matter are recommended.Keywords: Soil survey, physical and chemical soil properties, infiltration rate, hydraulic conductivity
Highlights
Ethiopia has 12 river basins with an annual runoff volume of 122 billion m3 of water and an estimated 2.6-6.5 billion m3 of groundwater potential, which makes an average of 1575 m3 of physically available water per person year-1 (Seleshi Bekele et al, 2007)
The project area is located at the right bank of Awash River in the middle of Awash basin in Afar National Regional State, between 9o 07’ to 9o 26’ N latitude and 40o30’ to 40o50’ E longitude and bordered by the main road from Awash Arba to Tendaho (Figure 1)
In order to characterize the intake behavior of project lands, infiltration was measured in triplicates at twenty eight representative locations using double ring infiltrometer
Summary
Ethiopia has 12 river basins with an annual runoff volume of 122 billion m3 of water and an estimated 2.6-6.5 billion m3 of groundwater potential, which makes an average of 1575 m3 of physically available water per person year-1 (Seleshi Bekele et al, 2007). The study was conducted in one of the basins of Awash River that starts in the central highlands of Ethiopia and ends at Lake Abe in Afar Region. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1965) surveyed the Awash River Basin as a whole on reconnaissance scale and classified the soils as marginally irrigable land. The latter study was carried out on limited scale. The above studies indicated the potential to utilize Awash (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/CC BY4.0)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
