Effect of in situ moisture conservation techniques on yield and water use efficiency of pearl millet in Makueni, Kenya
Paper Details
Effect of in situ moisture conservation techniques on yield and water use efficiency of pearl millet in Makueni, Kenya
Abstract
Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) production in semi-arid areas of Kenya is constrained mainly by moisture deficit. A field study was conducted in Makueni, Kenya during the 2014 short and long rainy seasons to determine the effect of in situ moisture conservation techniques on yield and water use efficiency of pearl millet. Treatments comprised of basin technique, tied ridge technique and flat technique as the control. Soil moisture content was monitored and analyzed gravimetrically throughout the growing season at 2 weeks interval. Pearl millet yield parameters (panicle number, panicle weight and grain and stover yields) were assessed at physiological maturity using standard procedures. Harvest index was determined as a ratio of grain yield to total aboveground biomass. Pearl millet water consumption and water use efficiency were estimated using water balance equation. Soil moisture content varied significantly (p < 0.05) between the treatments and was consistently highest in tied ridge and lowest in control. Tied ridge technique increased pearl millet grain yields by up to 262kg ha-1 and stover yield by a maximum of 638kg ha-1over control. Tied ridge recorded the highest water use of 167.2mm in 2014 short rains and 177.6mm in 2014 long rains. Highest pearl millet water use efficiency of 3.99kg ha-1mm-1 was recorded in tied ridge indicating higher resource utilization efficiency of this technique. These results assert the potential use of tied ridge in improving yield and water use efficiency of pearl millet in semi-arid areas.
Abubaker BMA, Yu Shuang-En, Shao Guang-Cheng, and Mohammad Alhadi. 2015. Impact of different water harvesting techniques on soil moisture content and yield components of sorghum. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 51(4), 779-788.
Akponikpe P. 2008. Millet response to water and soil fertility management in the Sahelian Niger: experiments and modeling. PhD Dissertation. Université catholique de Louvain 201p.
Akram NA, Ashraf M, Al-Qurainy F. 2012. Aminolevulinic acid-induced regulation in some key physiological attributes and activities of antioxidant enzymes in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) under saline regimes. Journal of Horticultural Sciences (8), 142-143.
Alam SM. 1994. Nutrient by plants under stress conditions. In: Pessrakli, M. (Ed.), Handbook of Plant and Crop Stress. Marcel Dekker, New York pp. 227-246.
Ali Sifuna. 1998. Yield and water use of rainfed wheat as influenced by tillage and fertilizer application on two ustochrepts. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 15(3-4), 140-145.
Ayub M, Nadeem MA, Tahir M, Ibrahim M, Aslam MN. 2009. Effect of nitrogen application and harvesting intervals on forage yield and quality of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L.). Pakistan Journal of Life and Social Sciences 7, 185-189.
Bationo A, Christianson C, Baethgen W, Mokwunye A. 1992. A farm-level evaluation of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use and planting density for pearl millet production in Niger. Fertilizer Research 31, 175-184.
CIMMYT. 2013. Kiboko Crops Research Station: A brief and visitors’ guide. CIMMYT.
de Rouw A. 2004. Improving yields and reducing risks in pearl millet farming in the African sahel. Agricultural Systems 81, 73-93.
FAO-ISRIC-ISSS. 1998. World Reference Base for Soil Resources. FAO, Rome.
Gérard B, Hiernaux P, Muehlig-Versen B, Buerkert A. 2001. Destructive and non-destructive measurements of residual crop residue and phosphorus effects on growth and composition of herbaceous fallow species in the Sahel. Plant and Soil 228, 265-273.
Gichuki FN. 2000. ‘Makueni District Profile: Water Management, 1989-1998’, Drylands Research Working Paper 3. Drylands Research, Crewkerne, United Kingdom.
Golombek S, Al-Ramamneh EAD. 2002. Drought tolerance mechanisms of pearl millet. Challenges to organic farming and sustainable land use in the tropics and subtropics Proceedings. University of Kassel, Institute of Crop Science, Germany. October 9-11.
Haitham RKE, Amir BS, Hassan IM. 2009. Effect of soil surface formation on yield and yield components of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) in north Gadaref state Sudanese Journal of Science and Technology 10, 1-16.
Hayashi K, Abdoulaye T, Gerard B, Bationo A. 2008. Evaluation of application timing in fertilizer micro-dosing technology on millet production in Niger, West Africa. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 80, 257-265.
Ibrahim Ali. 2015. Assessing the potential options for improving crop yield and water use efficiency in the sahelian low input millet-based cropping system. PhD Thesis. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
ICRISAT. 1992. Management Procedures for Pearl Millet Improvement. Skill Development Series no. 5.
Kinama JM, Ong CK, Stigter CJ, Ng’ang’a JK, Gichuki FN.. 2005. Evaporation from soils below sspaece crops in contour hedgerow agroforestry in semi-arid Kenya.
Kumar A, Rana KS. 2007. Performance of pigeon pea + green gram intercropping system as influenced by moisture conservation practices and fertility level under rainfed conditions. Indian Journal of Agronomy 52, 31-35.
Manu A, Bationo A, Geiger S. 1991. Fertility status of selected millet producing soils of West Africa with emphasis on phosphorus. Journal of Soil Science 152, 315-320.
Mina Rostamza, Mohammad-Reza Chaichi, Mohammad-Reza Jahansouz, Ahmad Alimadadi. 2011. Forage quality, water use and nitrogen utilization efficiencies of pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) grown under different soil moisture and nitrogen levels. Journal of Agricultural Water Management 98(10), 1607-1614.
Monteith JL. 1994. Validity of the correlation between intercepted radiation and biomass. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 68, 213-220.
Nagaz K, Toumi I, Mahjoub T, Masmoudi MM, Mechlia NB. 2009. Yield and water-use efficiency of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) R. Br.) under deficit irrigation with saline water in arid conditions of Southern Tunisia. Research Journal of Agronomy 3, 9-17.
Nyamadzawo G, Wuta M, Nyamangara J, Gumbo D. 2013. Opportunities for optimizing in field water harvesting to cope with changing climate in semiarid smallholder farming areas of Zimbabwe. Springer plus 2, 1-9.
Okalebo J, Robert, Kenneth W, Gathua and Paul L. Woomer. 2002. Laboratory Methods of Soil and Plant Analysis: A Working manual Second Edition. Sacred African Publishers, Nairobi, Kenya.
Oluwasemire KO, Stigter CJ, Owonubi JJ, Jagtap SS. 2002. Seasonal water use and water productivity of millet-based cropping systems in the Nigerian Sudan savanna near Kano. Agricultural Water Management 56, 207-227.
Paslawar AN, Deotalu AS. 2015. Impact of Soil Moisture Conservation Practices and Nutrient Management Under High Density Planting System of Cotton. The International Journal of Engineering And Science 4 9, 34-36.
Patil SL, Sheelawantar MN. 2001. Effect of in situ moisture conservation practices and integrated nutrient management on nutrient availability in the verti soil of semi-arid tropics of South India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 71(4), 229-235.
Premachandra GS, Saneoka H, Fujita K, Ogata S. 1990. Cell membrane stability and leaf water relations as affected by nitrogen nutrition under water stress in maize. Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 36, 653-659.
Saha S, Sehgal VK, Nagarajan S, Pal M. 2012. Impact of elevated atmospheric CO2 on radiation utilization and related plant biophysical properties in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.). Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (158-159), 63-70.
Schmidhalter U, Studer C. 1998. Water-use efficiency as influenced by plant mineral nutrition, 1st Sino-German Workshop “Impact of plant nutrition on sustainable agricultural production”. Kiel, 22-23. Germany.
Shaheen Aqila Muhammad Azhar Naeem, Ghulam Jilani and Muhammad Shafiq. 2012. Restoring the Land Productivity of Eroded Land through Soil Water Conservation and Improved Fertilizer Application on Pothwar plateau in Punjab Province, Pakistan. Resilience in Africa, Springer 223-234.
Sinclair TR. 2000. Model analysis of plant traits leading to prolonged crop survival during severe drought. Field Crops Research 68, 211-217.
Singh SS, Singh AK, Sundaram PK. 2015. Agrotechnological options for upscaling agricultural productivity in eastern Indogangetic plains under impending climate change situations: A review. Journal of Agricultural Research 1(2), 55-65.
Sivakumar MVK, Salaam SA. 1999. Effect of year and fertilizer on water-use efficiency of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) in Niger. The Journal of Agricultural Science 132, 139-148.
Soler C, Hoogenboom G, Sentelhas P, Duarte A. 2007. Impact of water stress on maize grown off-season in a subtropical environment. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 193, 247-261.
Sombroek WG, Braun HMH, van der Pouw BJA. 1982. The Exploratory Soil Map and Agro-climate Zone Map of Kenya, scale 1:1 m. Nairobi: Exploratory Soil Survey Report E1, KSS. ISBN, 9032701622.
Stone PJ, Wilson DR, Reid JB, Gillespie RN. 2001. Water deficit effects on sweet corn. I. Water use, radiation use efficiency, growth, and yield. Australian Journal of Crop and Pasture Science 52,103-113.
Tanguiling VC, Yambao EB, Toole JCO, Dedatta SK. 1987. Water stress effects on leaf elongation, leaf water potential, transpiration and nutrient uptake of rice, maize and soybean. Plant Soil 103, 155-168.
Taonda BA. 1999. Conjuctive use of rainfall and irrigation in semi-arid regions. Soil, crop, and water management systems for rainfed agriculture in West Africa. p. 107-116. In Proc. Int. Workshop, ICRISAT Sahelian Center, Niamey, Niger, 7-11. ICRISAT, Patancheru, A.P. 502 324, India.
Tiedong Liu, Fengbin Song, Shengqun Liu, Xiancan Zhu. 2012. Light interception and radiation use efficiency response to narrow-wide row planting patterns in maize. Australian Journal of Crop Science 6(3), 506-513.
Wang FX, Kang Y, Liu SP. 2006. Effects of drip irrigation frequency on soil wetting pattern and potato growth in North China Plain. Agricultural Water Management. 79, 248-264.
Zhang J, Sun J, Duan A, Wang J, Shen X, Liu X. 2007. Effects of different planting patterns on water use and yield performance of winter wheat in the Huang-Huai-Hai plain of China. Agricultural Water Management 92, 41-47.
P. M. Mutiso, J. M. Kinama, C. Onyango (2018), Effect of in situ moisture conservation techniques on yield and water use efficiency of pearl millet in Makueni, Kenya; IJAAR, V12, N6, June, P186-196
https://innspub.net/effect-of-in-situ-moisture-conservation-techniques-on-yield-and-water-use-efficiency-of-pearl-millet-in-makueni-kenya/
Copyright © 2018
By Authors and International
Network for Natural Sciences
(INNSPUB) https://innspub.net
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0