Evaluating the effect of in-situ rainwater harvesting techniques on maize production in moisture stress areas of humbo woreda, wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia

ISSN: 2224-0616 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(1): 71-79, June 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v10i1.48096 Available online at https://ijarit.webs.com https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/IJARIT Evaluating the effect of in-situ rainwater harvesting techniques on maize production in moisture stress areas of humbo woreda, wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia W. Naba1, A. Moges2 and A. Gebremichael3* Received 15April 2020, Revised 23 April 2020, Accepted 20 June 2020, Published online 30 June 2020 ABSTRACT The study was conducted to investigate the effect of different in-situ water harvesting structures as soil moisture conservation techniques under maize crop production in Abela Sippa kebele Wolaita zone, Ethiopia where rainfall variation is affecting agriculture with prolonged dry spells during critical crop growth stages. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design, with three replications and four treatments. The four treatments used in the study were; Control, Targa, Tie-ridge and Zai pits. Findings from this study revealed that maize grain yield and yield components, such as, grain yield, dry matter biomass, and cob length were highly significant (p<0.05) on Targa. Soil-moisture content over the crop growing season at dry spell periods was significantly higher in Targa and Tie ridges than the control. Maize yield of (7150 kg ha-1), (6190 kg ha-1), (4500 kg ha-1) and (4900 kg ha-1) was obtained from Targa, Tie ridge, Zai pits and Control, respectively. Targa and Tie ridge treatments recorded higher net returns (29712 and 25164 kg ha-1) than Control (20370 kg ha-1) and Zai (14350 kg ha-1) treatments. The results revealed that the in-situ rainwater harvesting techniques could play great role in improving crop yield in dry periods. However, the utilization of the technology is surrounded by various constraints. The major constraints include labour, cost, lack of knowledge and crops planted on bunds. The findings suggest that Targa structure improved water availability during the growing season, thereby protecting crops from dry periods and it needs minimum cost, less labor power ,and easily constructed by local farmers (not require complicated knowledge). Keywords: In-situ Rainwater harvesting, Farmers' perception, Soil moisture, Maize yield. 1 Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Arba Minch Agricultural Research Center, Arba Minch, Ethiopia. Hawassa Institute of Technology, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia. 3 Southern Agricultural Research Institute, Bonga Agricultural Research Center, Bonga, Ethiopia. 2 *Corresponding author’s email: (A. Gebremichael) Cite this article as: Naba, W., Moges, A. and Gebremichael, A. 2020. Evaluating the effect of in-situ rainwater harvesting techniques on maize production in moisture stress areas of humbo woreda, wolaita zone, southern Ethiopia. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 10(1): 71-79. https://doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v10i1.48096 Introduction The efficient use of water in agricultural systems is needed to improve crop production and resilience to environmental adversities that may be caused by climate change and extended droughts, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Marginal and erratic rainfall aggravated by the loss of water by runoff and evaporation are the main causes of low crop production in these areas (Yosef and Asmamaw, 2015). Ethiopia has been dependent on subsidence rain-fed agriculture for centuries, and crop production has thus been heavily reliant on the availability of rainwater (Araya and Stroosnijder, 2010; Yosef and Asmamaw, 2015). Out of the 13.6 million ha of cultivated land in Ethiopia, close to 97% is rain-fed implying that the nation’s annual harvests depend heavily on the patterns of the seasonal rains (Awulachew et al., 2005; FAO, 2005). Analysis of maize crop yield patterns since the 1970s shows that crop yields are mainly dependent on season quality (rainfall quantity and distribution) thereby making rainfall the most important crop yield determinant (MLARR, 2001) crop yield depression and crop failure due to moisture stress is thus a common phenomenon in the semi-arid areas. Studies in Ethiopia have also shown that improved crop productivity can only be achieved in the region if policies and strategies are adopted by regional governments to improve agricultural water management (Mahoo et at., 2007). International Journal of Agricultural Research Innovation & Technology An open access article under Effect of in-situ rainwater harvesting techniques on maize production in Ethiopia Materials and Methods Description of the study area The field experiment was conducted at Humbo woreda which is one of the 12 woreda of Wolaita Zone and it is far from the capital city of Ethiopia 380 km and 18 km south of Soddo town on the main road to Arba Minch. The woreda is located 1420 meter above sea level, 6°43'44''N latitude and 37°45'51’’E longitude in South Nation Nationalities and People Regional State (SNNPRS) shown in Fig. 1 below. Fig. 1. Map of the study location. The climatic condition of the study area, average daily temperature is 18.3oC-21.0oC, the annual rainfall varies between 710 mm and 1337 mm (CV = 16%) with a mean of 1148 mm for the past 11 years. The rainy season can further be divided into 2 periods: the ‘‘Belg’’ or small rains that take place from, February, March and April but high (peak) rainfall on May and low rainfall on June (flowering stage) these indicated that during the ‘Belg’ season, the rains are very rare and the ‘Kiremt’ or big rains that take place from July to September (Fig. 2). The erratic and unreliable nature of the rainfall in the woreda affects the rain fed crop production, which is the main economic stay for the dwellers of the area (Fitsum et al., 1999). 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Farmers in the semi-arid zones have therefore developed strategies, including RWH, to cope with this uncertain and erratic rainfall patterns. RWH practices refer to all practices whereby rainwater is collected artificially to make it available for cropping or domestic purposes (Ngigi et al., 2005). Water harvesting techniques (WHTs) have played a key role in improving the efficient use of rainwater and have increased the sustainability and reliability of rain-fed agriculture (Biazin et al., 2012). Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) has been promoted as an approach to integrate land and water management, which could contribute to recovery of agriculture production in rain fed systems and the general water resources (Rockström et al., 2002). In-situ WHTs improve the availability of water in the soil profile to decrease the effects of dry periods caused by the seasonal variation of rainfall. Soils contemporarily hold water, so insitu water harvesting prolongs the availability of water in the root zone by reducing runoff and evaporation losses (Vohland and Barry, 2009). Accordingly, in-situ RWH, using differen (...truncated)