Maize agronomic research to alleviate moisture stress, low soil fertility and weed problems in the dryland areas of Ethiopia
1995
Zewdie, L. | Reddy, M.S. | Admassu, H. | Biru, B. | Habte, T. | Mariam, E.G.
Agronomic research on maize was carried out by the Dryland Farming Research Program of IAR in Central Ethiopia. Our aim was to develop appropriate soil and crop management practices to conserve limited soil moisture, improve soil fertility, increase the biological efficiency of cropping systems and to develop farming systems for low rainfall areas of the country. Tied-ridges were found to conserve soil moisture and resulted in substantial maize yield increase. With the shifting of most fertilizer response trials to the farmers' field, significant response for both N and P fertilizer application in maize was obtained, even in low rainfall areas. Application of 41 kg ha-l N and 20 kg ha/l P gave the highest grain yield and net benefit, averaged over three on-farm locations and two years. In addition to improving the total biological productivity by up to 50 percent over the sole crops, the maize/bean intercropping systems reduced weeds and pests. On-farm studies carried out to examine the interaction effects of different production factors identified several promising production packages for improved maize production. A combination of four factors in an improved package showed 100 percent yield improvement over the check.
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