Effectiveness of selected soil conservation practices on soil erosion control and crop yields in the Usambara mountains, Tanzania

Mwango, S. B.; Msanya, B. M.; Mtakwa, P. W.; Kimaro, D. N.; Deckers, J.; Poesen, J.; Massawe, I.; Samwel, J.

dc.creator	Mwango, S. B.
dc.creator	Msanya, B. M.
dc.creator	Mtakwa, P. W.
dc.creator	Kimaro, D. N.
dc.creator	Deckers, J.
dc.creator	Poesen, J.
dc.creator	Massawe, I.
dc.creator	Samwel, J.
dc.date	2015-03-27T13:55:03Z
dc.date	2015-03-27T13:55:03Z
dc.date	2014-12-16
dc.date.accessioned	2022-10-25T08:50:18Z
dc.date.available	2022-10-25T08:50:18Z
dc.identifier	Mwango, S. B., Msanya, B. M., Mtakwa, P. W., Kimaro, D. N., Deckers, J., Poesen, J., Massawe, I. & Samwel, J. (2014). Effectiveness of selected soil conservation practices on soil erosion control and crop yields in the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Journal of Agriculture and Ecology Research International, 2(2), 129-144.
dc.identifier	DOI: 10.9734/JAERI/2015/13636
dc.identifier	https://www.suaire.sua.ac.tz/handle/123456789/573
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/90039
dc.description	This article is also available at www.sciencedomain.org
dc.description	Indigenous soil conservation measures such as miraba have been widely used in Usambara Mountains for controlling soil erosion but with little success. On-farm runoff experiments were set from 2011–2014 on Acrisols in Majulai and Migambo villages with contrasting agro-ecological conditions in the Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. The aim was to investigate the effectiveness of miraba and miraba with various mulching materials in reducing runoff, soil and nutrient losses and improving productivity of maize (Zea mays) and beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Results show that mean annual runoff coefficients (mm mm-1) ranged from 0.72 for cropland with no soil conservation measure (control) to 0.15 for cropland with miraba and Tithonia (Tithonia diversifolia) mulching in Majulai village and respectively from 0.68 to 0.13 in Migambo village. Soil loss was significantly (P = .05) higher under control than under miraba with either Tughutu (Vernonia myriantha) or Tithonia mulching e. g. 184 vs. 20 in Majulai and 124 vs. 8 Mg ha-1 year-1 in Migambo village in 2012. The Pfactors were significantly (P = .05) higher under miraba sole than under miraba with mulching in Majulai village (0.18 vs. 0.11) and in Migambo village (0.10 vs. 0.05).The annual nutrient losses in kg ha-1yr-1 were significantly (P = .05) higher under control than under miraba with mulching 367 vs. 37 total N, 0.8 vs. 0.1 P and 14 vs. 4 K for Majulai village; 474 vs. 26 total N, 0.7 vs. 0.1 P and 20 vs. 1.2 K for Migambo village in 2012. Maize and bean yields were significantly (P = .05) higher under miraba with Tughutu mulching than under control (e.g. 2.0 vs. 0.7 Mg ha-1 for maize in Majulai in 2012). Thus miraba with Tughutu mulching is more effective in improving crop yields than miraba with Tithonia and miraba sole.
dc.description	VLIR-UOS supported RIP-DSS SUA Project “Enhancing Indigenous Knowledge on Conservation Agriculture for Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Livelihood, Usambara Mountains, Lushoto, Tanzania”, for providing financial and logistical assistance to the research.
dc.format	application/pdf
dc.language	en
dc.language	en
dc.language	en
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	SCIENCEDOMAIN international
dc.subject	Soil erosion
dc.subject	Soil conservation
dc.subject	Crop yields
dc.subject	Tanzania
dc.subject	Usambara mountains
dc.subject	Miraba
dc.subject	Nutrient losses
dc.subject	Runoff
dc.title	Effectiveness of selected soil conservation practices on soil erosion control and crop yields in the Usambara mountains, Tanzania
dc.type	Article
dc.type	Article
dc.type	Article
dc.type	Article