Identification of Best Maize-Legume Based Cropping Systems under Conservation Agriculture Practices for Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

Abstract

The term cropping system refers to the crops and crop sequences and the management techniques used on a particular field over a period of years. This experiment was conducted at Hawassa Research Centre. The experiment was run for two years (2015-2016).The experiment consisted of six treatments (Continuous mono-cropping under conventional practice (CN) and Continuous mono cropping (CA), relay cropping with double bean planting within a season under CA  (maize bean inter-cropping: second round bean planting was conducted after immediate harvesting of the first bean), Double cropping (lablab then maize bean inter cropping), Double cropping (bean then maize) under CA and Double cropping (maize then bean) under CA. Maize yield and yield related traits and soil water data were collected from each treatment. In 2016, the highest maize biomass yield of 16050 kg ha^-1 was obtained from double cropping and the maximum water use efficiency was also from the same treatment and averaged 31kg mm^-1. Maize-bean relay cropping outperformed the sole maize under CA and conventional practice by 182 and 138 % for maize grain yield from bean equivalent conversion into maize and grain yield inclusion of direct harvest in 2016.Water use efficiency of double cropping (bean then maize) and relay cropping was higher than double cropping (maize then bean) by 366 and 197% in 2015 for grain yield. For biomass, relay cropping under CA and sole maize under conventional practice had similar water use efficiency averaging 18 and 18 kg mm^-1, respectively. For grain yield double cropping (bean then maize), double cropping (maize then bean) and relay cropping under CA had greater water use efficiency than sole maize under conventional practice, sole maize under CA and lablab then maize-bean inter cropping under CA, averaging 109, 152 and 81%, respectively. The result showed use of CA practice with diverse crops planted together (maize and bean): double inter-cropping at different time (relay cropping) and double cropping under CA (maize then bean) are good strategies to use the residual soil moisture and to improve crop productivity in the sustainable way as compared with the conventional sole planting.

Keywords: Cropping system, lablab, water use efficiency

DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/13-15-04

Publication date:September 30^th 2022