Demonstration of Tied Ridges and Plantings Method on Soil Moisture and Grain Yield of Maize in Dry Land Area of Sankura Woreda, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Abstract

Tied ridging is a useful technique, especially on terrain with slopes of 3% to 4% or less. On steeper slopes, adding terrace can increase crop yields by prolonging the time it takes for water to percolate into the soil. Purpose of the study was to show the effects of the open end linked ridges with furrow planting technique on the soil's moisture content and the grain production of the maize crop in the Sankura Woreda Silte zone's dry land. The woreda was selected purposively based on the rain fall shortage and dry land availability. 12 farmers from two kebeles were selected. Training session was organized in order to create a common awareness about the relevance, objective, purpose, outcome, output and the method of conduction of the activity. Maize grain yield and farmers’ perception data has been collected and analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. At the end, farmers raised as open end tied ridges with furrow plantings method on soil moisture and grain yield of maize crop in dry land become productive at low production cost with its adjusted yield 74.97Qt/ha and 270% marginal rate of return which is economically feasible for farmers. Tide ridge as in situ soil moisture conservation structure tested in this study could be an option to improve maize yield and soil moisture conservation in dry land areas. Additionally, tide ridge is economically feasible relative to farmer’s practice. Therefore, wider scaling up and dissemination of open end tied ridge technology will enable to create awareness to the farmer and shift them to high production.