Browsing by Author "Mtakwa, Peter W"

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Effects of tillage and cropping systems on maize and beans yield and selected yield components in a semi-arid area in of Kenya
(Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems, 2016) Karuma, Anne N; Gachene, Charles K. K; Gicheru, Patrick T; Mtakwa, Peter W; Amuri, Nyambilila A
Conservation of soil moisture through tillage practices is an important management objective for crop production in semi-arid areas. A study to evaluate the effects of tillage practices on maize and bean yields was conducted in Mwala Sub County, Eastern Kenya, in the long (LR) and short rains (SR) of 2012/13. The tillage treatments were: Disc Ploughing (DP), Disc Ploughing and Harrowing (DPH), Ox-ploughing (OX), Subsoiling – Ripping (SSR), Hand hoeing with Tied Ridges (HTR) and Hand hoeing (H) only. There were three cropping systems of Sole Maize (SM), Sole Bean (SB) and Maize - Bean intercrop (M + B), which were investigated in a Split-Plot Design field experiment with four replications. Data on maize and bean yield and yield components were monitored throughout the four cropping seasons. Maize plant height, leaf area and leaf area index, maize and beans grain and biomass yields were significantly affected by tillage (P < 0.05). No significant effect of cropping systems on the maize height was observed. Higher maize grain yields (P < 0.05) were obtained in the sole maize plots in LR 2012 (5.01 Mg ha -1 ), SR 2012 (4.19 Mg ha -1 ) and in the SR 2013 season (2.82 Mg ha -1 ). A three - season bean grain yield average by tillage shows that DPH > SSR > DP > OX > HTR > H, with values ranging from 0.75 Mg ha -1 to 1.46 Mg ha -1 (P < 0.05). Intercropping reduced the seasonal means of bean grain yields (P < 0.05) with a 54 % decrease by intercropping (0.73 Mg ha -1 ) compared to the sole bean (1.6 Mg ha -1 ). Thus, the DP and DPH improved crop yield and yield components and can be recommended as tillage practices in the semi-arid region.
Evaluation of growth, yield and water productivity of paddy rice with water-saving irrigation and optimization of nitrogen fertilization
(MDPI, 2021) Mboyerwa, Primitiva Andrea; Kibret, Kibebew; Mtakwa, Peter W; Aschalew, Abebe
Rice production in Tanzania, with 67% of its territory considered semi-dry and having average annual rainfall of 300 mm, must be increased to feed an ever-growing population. Water for irrigation and low soil fertility are among the main challenges. One way to decrease water consumption in paddy fields is to change the irrigation regime for rice production, replacing con- tinuous flooding with alternate wetting and drying. In order to assess the impact of different irri- gation regimes and nitrogen fertilizer applications on growth, yield, and water productivity of rice, a greenhouse pot experiment with soil from lowland rice ecology was conducted at Sokoine Uni- versity of Agriculture, Tanzania during the 2019 cropping season . The experiment was split-plot based on randomized complete block design with 12 treatments and 3 replications. Water re- gimes were the main factors comparing continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with nitrogen fertilizer levels as the subfactor, comparing absolute control (no fertilizer) with 0 (P and K fertilizers), 60, 90, 120, and 150 kg Nha−1. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) significantly improved water productivity by 8.3% over CF (p < 0.05). Water productivity (WP) ranged from 0.6 to 1.5 kg of rice per m3 of water. Average water use ranged from 36 to 82 L per season, and water saving was up to 34.3%. Alternate wetting and drying significantly improved yields (p < 0.05) by 13.3%, and the yield ranged from 21.8 to 118.2 g pot−1. The combination of AWD water management and 60 kg N ha −1 nitrogen fertilization application was found to be the optimal management, however there was no significant difference between 60 and 90 kg N ha −1, in which case 60 kg N ha −1 is recommended because it lowers costs and raises net income. Nitrogen levels significantly affected water productivity, water use, and number of irrigations. Nitrogen levels had significant effect (p < 0.05) on plant height, number of tillers, flag leaf area, chlorophyll content, total tillers, number of productive tillers, panicle weight, panicle length, 1000-grain weight, straw yield, grain yield, and grain harvest index. The results showed that less water can be used to produce more crops under alternative wetting and drying irrigation practices. The results are important for water-scarce areas, providing useful information to policy makers, farmers, agricultural departments, and water management boards in devising future climate-smart adaptation and mitigation strate- gies
Evaluation of water productivity and agronomic performance of paddy rice through water saving irrigation and nitrogen fertilization
(2020) Mboyerwa, Primitiva Andrea; Kibret, Kibebew; Mtakwa, Peter W; Aschew, Abebe; Uphoff, Norman T
Tanzania with 945 million hectares of land area and annual rainfall of 300 mm on 67% of its territorial land is considered as a semi-dry region in the world. Rice production in Tanzania needs to be increased to feed a growing population, whereas water for irrigation is getting scarce. One way to decrease water consumption in paddy fields is to change the irrigation regime for rice production and to replace continuous flooding with alternate wetting and drying. In order to investigate the effect of different regimes of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer on yield and water productivity of hybrid rice, two greenhouse pot experiments comprising soils from upland and lowland production ecologies were conducted at Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania during crop seasons of 2019. The experiment was arranged in split plots based on completely randomized block design with 3 replications. Water regimes were the main factor comparing continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) wit nitrogen fertilizer levels as the sub-factor including absolute control , 0, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg/ha. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) improved water productivity in both upland and lowland production ecologies compared to CF. AWD increased yield under lowland production by 13.3% while in upland there was 18.5% decrease in yield. The average water use varied from 31.5 to 84 L pot-1 under upland trials, while in lowland trials it was 36 to 82.3 L. Higher yield and lower water application led to an increase in WP varying from 1.2 to 1.8 kg cm-3 under upland trials, and 0.6 to 1.5 kg cm-3 under lowland trials. The variation in water productivity among treatments was mainly due to the differences in the yield, water and nitrogen levels used in the production process. Both sets of trials recorded water saving up to 34.3% and 17.3% under lowland and upland trials, respectively. Under upland trials, the yield varied from 39.9 to 124.1 g pot-1 and in lowland trials yield was from 20.6 to 118.2 g pot-1 representing paddy rice. The measurements showed that less water can be used to produce more crops under alternative rice growing practices. The results are important for water-scarce areas, providing useful information to policy makers, farmers, agricultural departments, and water management boards in devising future climate-smart adaptation and mitigation strategies.
The role of microaggregation in physical edaphology
(Sokoine University of Agriculture, 1993) Mtakwa, Peter W
Soil type and the previous tensile strength and penetration resistance as a (PR) should allow the soil compared ranging fail to failure planes in between the microaggregates. function of easily along Five Tanzanian soil hardsetting Paleustalf from a extreme of strength behaviour, through a Paleudoll, Paleustult, both It was expected (the strength characteristics). that microaggregation types were can I characterized soil strength by measuring affect soil strength. matric potential cultivation history of one at Paleudalf and a to a strongly microaggregated Orthox expected to be at At each site soils that had a history of the weak end of the scale. 7 or more years of cultivation and cropping were compared with newly cultivated soils. The and Orthox Paleustult had the best PR characteristic for ease of root growth and the Paleustalf had the worst characteristic which suggested that it would not permit root growth at matric suctions exceeding 100 kPa. The Orthox also had much the most favourable tensile strength characteristic. At air dryness (100 MPa suction), the previously uncultivated and previously cultivated Orthox topsoils strength. compressive) Paleustalf topsoils. Paleustult) a previous had 3 and respectively, 9 times than less the tensile (and corresponding For three of the soils (Orthox, Paleudoll and history of cultivation was found to have significantly and substantially reduced the tensile strength of the topsoil at any given matric suction compared to the newly cultivated soil