Abstract
Nutrient export through sediment is, often, not given due attention in improving the fertility of soils. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) (replicated three times) was conducted to assess the effect of sediment, collected from a microdam, on the yield of a local wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum) grown on a Luvisol and a Vertisol during cropping season of 2003 and 2004 in Tigray, Ethiopia. In the first season, the treatments consisted of applying 34.3 Mg sediment ha−1 (T1), 0.1 Mg urea ha−1 (T2), 4 Mg manure ha−1 (T3) and a control plot (T4). The experiment was repeated in the 2004 cropping season using the same indicator crop but without the use of T1 and T3 inputs to evaluate the residual effect of these treatments on crop productivity. Plant height, plant density, spike length, straw and grain yield were compared among the treatments. After harvest, surface soil (0–25 cm) samples were taken and analyzed for total Nitrogen (Ntot), available Phosphorous (P), Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), and porosity to examine treatments effect on these soil properties. Higher CEC, exchangeable bases, SOC, Ntot, available P and micronutrients except Cu characterized sediment compared to the two soils used. Application of sediment increased the average grain and straw yield of wheat by 72% and 12%, respectively, in the Luvisol, and by 38% and 23%, respectively, in the Vertisol relative to the control. However, the application of sediment didn’t change the physicochemical properties of the Vertisol, but in the Luvisol CEC and available P were increased significantly. Like manure, sediment provided marginal rate of return above the minimum acceptable value (100%) by farmers, demonstrating the potential of these resources to improve degraded soils and boost farmers’ income.
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Acknowledgement
This research was conducted through the financial support of WHO-SAREC project at Mekelle University. The authors wish to thank the project for their financial support. A special gratitude goes to the farmers of Gum Selassa who were involved in the research activities and gave us their plots to conduct this research. We also express our gratitude to Dr. Fistum Hagos (Development and Resource Economist) for his comments on the economic analysis part of the manuscript. The authors wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive and professional comments. Finally, the first author is grateful to the Norweigan State Educational Loan Fund (Lånekassen) for providing financial assistance.
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Girmay, G., Mitiku, H. & Singh, B.R. Agronomic and economic performance of reservoir sediment for rehabilitating degraded soils in Northern Ethiopia. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 84, 23–38 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9222-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-008-9222-y