Soil Properties and Maize Yields Under Tied Ridging, Fertilizer Micro-Dosing and Different Cropping Systems in Semi-Arid Regions of Kenya
Loading...
Date
2018
Authors
Mwende, N
Danga, B.O.
Mugwe, J.
Kwena, K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
RUFORUM
Abstract
In semi-arid parts of Kenya, the major threat to food security is declining soil fertility, inadequate and
un-reliable rainfall. In order to minimize these challenges, there is need to adopt soil management
practices that cope with low rainfall in semi-arid areas. A field experiment was carried out in four
seasons at Katumani in Machakos County. The main objective of the study was to determine the
effect of tied ridging, fertilizer micro-dosing and cropping systems on soil properties (soil pH and
soil organic carbon) and maize yields. The experiment was a 2x4x2 factorial laid in a randomized
complete block design (RCBD). The treatments were tied ridging, flat bed planting, farm yard
manure 0t/ha, farm yard manure 5 t/ha, 20 kg nitrogen/ha, farm yard manure 5 t/ha + 20 kg N/ha,
maize monocrop and maize-cowpea intercrop. The results revealed that the interactions between tied
ridging x fertilizer micro-dosing x cropping systems had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on soil organic
carbon, soil pH and maize yields. The findings suggest that it is important to integrate different soil
management practices in order to maximize maize yields. The effectiveness of tied ridges is affected
by the seasonal rain fall variations and that success is more feasible when the rainfall amount is low
Description
This paper is a contribution to the Sixth Africa Higher
Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference held in October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Keywords
Cropping systems, Fertilizer micro-dosing, Flat bed planting, Kenya, Tied ridging
Citation
Mwende, N., Danga, B. O., Mugwe, J., & Kwena, K. RUFORUM Working Document Series (ISSN 1607-9345), 2018, No. 17 (2): 408-412. Available from http://repository. ruforum. org.