Rainwater harvesting and conservation tillage increase maize yields in South Africa

Botha, J.J.; Anderson, John J.; Staden, P. P. Van

doi:10.1016/j.wrr.2015.04.001

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…However, we found that different rainwater harvesting practices had different effects on augmented available soil water. Especially, special shape of ridge had a large effects on increasing and maintaining soil water content under the ridge, which may put down to harvest more precipitation due to large superficial area with plastic-film mulched (Botha et al,2015;Yang et al, 2015;); in this study, "W-shaped" system was found and had advantage enough in rainfall storage.…”

Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

How a Ridge-Furrow Rainwater Harvesting System With Plastic Film-Mulched Ridges Affects Runoff Generation, Rainfall Storage, and Water Movement in Semi-Arid Regions in China

Yang¹,

Gao²,

Feng³

2020

RJOAS

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Ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting with alternate white plastic film-mulching has been shown to be an easy and efficient method to harvest rainwater and improve crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions in China. To explore how this system affects the pattern of water movement, the water content of the soil, and runoff generation, two systems were designed and tested in Fugu, Yulin, Shaanxi, China from 2010 to 2012. There were three treatment groups as follows: a flat control plot with no mulching (NM), a plot with furrow and ridge widths of 60 cm (P60), and a plot with furrow and W-shaped ridge widths of 40 cm (W80). W80 was found to have a higher mean rate of runoff generation than P60 (83.1% and 70.3%, respectively). Additionally, compared with the other groups, W80 exhibited increased rainwater storage beneath the furrow in both rainy and dry seasons. The water content of the soil beneath the ridges of all treatment groups was higher after rainfall than before rainfall, and the rainwater infiltration rate was higher at 24 h after rainfall than at 48 h after rainfall. Moreover, the water content of the soil under the ridge was higher at the pre-measured stage than at the later measured stage, suggesting that it is not effective for short-term rainfall. Yield, water use efficiency, and soil water storage of rainwater harvesting practices had more advantage than that of NM. These findings suggest that using a ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting system with alternate plastic film-mulching can improve runoff generation, increase rainwater storage, and decrease water loss from the soil. In this system, the water from the soil moved from planted furrows to ridges during rainfall, but the water moved from ridges to planted furrows in the dry season. The W80 system with the W-shaped ridge performed better than the other groups with respect to rainwater storage, evaporation control, runoff generation, and water use efficiency. KEY WORDSFurrow-ridge tillage, water storage, water movement, China.In arid and semi-arid regions, rainfall is an important resource for rain-fed farming production (Cook et al., 2000). In this region, soil moisture is generally limited and crop growth is stressed by drought during the growing seasons, which often leads to unstable crops yield. This presents a serious environment problem for sustainable agricultural development (Wu et al., 2000). To cope with the water shortage problem, it is necessary to adopt water-saving agriculture countermeasures to achieve the largest possible increase in water use efficiency of crops (Wang et al., 2001;Shao et al., 2007). How to use limited rainfall is a key

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Section: Discussion Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

How a Ridge-Furrow Rainwater Harvesting System With Plastic Film-Mulched Ridges Affects Runoff Generation, Rainfall Storage, and Water Movement in Semi-Arid Regions in China

Yang¹,

Gao²,

Feng³

2020

RJOAS

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“…Many studies have shown that maize yields are influenced by various factors, such as fertilizer ( [3,29]), water ( [19]), tillage ( [4]), agricultural management ( [38]). In this study we suggest that high soil microbial activity and more RLD caused increased yield of maize.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, maize yield in Kano State positively correlated with soil organic C, and soil organic C accounted for 75% of the variation in maize yield ([9]). The microbial activity is related to soil organic matter decomposition while the soil cycles of soil C and N dominated by microbial activity are beneficial for the improvement in soil fertility ( [6]), further increase the crop biomass and yield ( [4]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on maize yield responses to soil microbial activity and root length density in the North China Plain

Sun

Yao

2021

E3S Web Conf.

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A maize field experiment in the North China Plain was conducted to understand the effect of different N fertilizer rate on the yield of maize, using soil microbial activity and root length density (RLD) as performance parameters, due to their possibility to enhance productivity. The four N fertilizer rates were 0 (N0), 120 (N120), 210 (N210) and 300 (N300) kg N hm-2. The results indicated that nitrogen (N) fertilizer had a significant influence not only on yield (p<0.05), but also on root length density (p<0.05) and soil microbial activity (p<0.05). In addition, the soil microbial activity and RLD were significantly related with maize yield. RLD differences were generally evident within the 100 cm soil layer, whereas there was no difference in the deeper soil under different N treatments. The most RLD concentrated in 0-60cm soil layer under N0, N120 and in 0-90cm soil layer under N210, N300. The microbial growth rate constant (k) was greater in N210 than other treatments. Generally, N fertilizer application can stimulate root growth and microbial activity, meanwhile, they can interact with each other, heighten the availability of N fertilizer in soil, thus enhanced yield of maize. According to our study, 210 kg N hm-2 was the optimum N fertilizer rate to achieve maximum yield and sustain the soil productivity.

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“…To calculate the efficiency of reservoir tillage, this was compared with no reservoir or conventional tillage [108,110,111], zero tillage, minimum tillage, rainwater collection in the field, and Daling plowing [113].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design Criteria for Planning the Agricultural Rainwater Harvesting Systems: A Review

Martínez-Acosta

López-Lambraño

2019

Applied Sciences

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The growth in world population demands greater food production. Meanwhile, rainwater-harvesting systems (RWHS) have been used since ancient times to guarantee water supply for agriculture. Therefore, this research study reviews the conditions related to RWHS, focusing on rural communities. In this review, the methodologies used for rainwater harvesting (RWH) were determined, considering the characteristics for each of the hydraulic structures to guarantee runoff collection according to the basin area. Finally, the most relevant design parameters that should be considered in the planning and integral water resource management (IWRM) are identified, such as the soil type, average rainfall, and physiographic characteristics of the basin.

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Rainwater harvesting and conservation tillage increase maize yields in South Africa

Cited by 15 publications

References 10 publications

How a Ridge-Furrow Rainwater Harvesting System With Plastic Film-Mulched Ridges Affects Runoff Generation, Rainfall Storage, and Water Movement in Semi-Arid Regions in China

How a Ridge-Furrow Rainwater Harvesting System With Plastic Film-Mulched Ridges Affects Runoff Generation, Rainfall Storage, and Water Movement in Semi-Arid Regions in China

Effect of nitrogen fertilization on maize yield responses to soil microbial activity and root length density in the North China Plain

Design Criteria for Planning the Agricultural Rainwater Harvesting Systems: A Review

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