Tillage and Crop Residue Effects on Soil Carbon and Moisture for Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Productivity in Semiarid Regions of Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil tillage is one of the basic agriculture operations. However, the appropriate tillage type, tillage time, and tillage frequency for effective moisture harvesting and sustainable soil fertility were not investigated for Tigray. A field experiment was conducted during 2016 to 2018 in Enderta district. It was done with the objective of evaluating the effect of different tillage practices on wheat productivity. The treatments were (I) permanent bed+ crop residue,(II) three times tillage with furrow, (III) two times tillage with furrow, and (IV) farmer’s practice tillage. A randomized complete block design with three replications was set up. Measurement of soil moisture content was conducted using the gravimetric method. Agronomic parameters were collected and analyzed using GenStat. Marginal rate of return was also estimated from the total revenue and total variable cost. Positive effect was found on soil fertility, soil moisture content, and grain yield due to the tillage practice and crop residue. Permanent bed+ crop residues and three tillage furrow increased soil moisture content, organic carbon, and total nitrogen, as well as the yield and yield components at the second and third year of experimentation. The highest grain yield 2952 kg ha-1 and biomass yield 8582 kg ha-1 were recorded at the three tillage furrow in the third year of experimentation. The 59,056 ETB was the highest net revenue recorded at three times tillage with furrows. From this result, it can be concluded that without adding any additional input instead of changing agricultural operation techniques, the economic benefit of farmers’ could be improved by 48%. Therefore, three tillage practices with furrow is the most economically feasible technology for farmers to increase wheat productivity in the semiarid area of Enderta district.