Effect of soil and water conservation measures on cowpea and maize performance in the Northern and Upper East regions of Ghana.
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Date
October, 2015
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Abstract
Agricultural land in Ghana is being degraded, with soil erosion becoming an increasing
threat to crop production. Soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are promising
intervention especially if developed to suit a given climate, soil type as well as crops.
This study was set out to evaluate the impact of four treatments [contour farming (CF),
half-moon (HM), contour ridges (CR) and farmer’s practice (FP)] on cowpea and maize
growth and yield as well as on soil moisture content. A survey was used to assess
farmers’ level of knowledge on soil erosion and erosion control practices as well as
factors that cause soil erosion. The study was carried out in the Northern and Upper
East Regions of Ghana on-station and on-farm using cowpea and maize as test crops.
The on-station experiment consisted of four replicates each of cowpea and maize with
the four treatments. The on-farm experiment was carried out in six communities across
the Northern and Upper East Region of Ghana with each community as a replicate.
Plant height, stem girth, root biomass, number of leaves, leaf area index (LAI) at
flowering/tasseling and grain yield were determined. The on-station experiment
showed that SWC measures significantly (P < 0.05) retained more moisture compared
to the farmers’ practice. In the cowpea trial, there was about 23.4%, 19.2% and 17.8%
significant (P < 0.05) retention in soil moisture in the CF, CR and HM treatments
respectively over the FP whilst in the maize trial, CF, CR and HM recorded about
24.0%, 20.4% and 19.4% significant (P < 0.05) retention in soil moisture over the FP
respectively. Only cowpea stem girth was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by SWC
measures. Effect of SWC measures on cowpea in the Upper East was only significant
(P < 0.05) for the LAI whilst significant effect (P < 0.05) of SWC measures on cowpea
in the Northern Region was observed on stem girth, LAI, root biomass and yield. The
SWC measures effect on maize at the on-station trial were significant (P < 0.05) on
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maize height, stem girth, root biomass and yield. The Upper East maize trial recorded
significant effect (P < 0.05) of SWC measures on maize height, LAI and yield whilst
the Northern Region maize trial recorded significant effect (P < 0.05) of SWC measures
on yield only. Where there was no significant treatment effect (P < 0.05) on the growth
and yield components of the cowpea and maize performed better with the SWC
measures (CF, HM and CR) compared to the control (FP). The survey revealed that all
the respondents in both regions were aware of what soil erosion is about. All
respondents had knowledge of soil erosion whilst 85% of respondents across the two
regions had knowledge or were aware of SWC measures as erosion control techniques.
The respondents agreed that the causes of soil erosion included cultivation on steep
slopes, poor SWC practices, excessive rainfall, population pressure, over cultivation,
deforestation and over grazing. All respondents rated erosion as a severe problem and
mentioned that the rate of soil erosion has been increasing over time. They were aware
that erosion can be controlled. Farmers in the Northern and Upper East Regions of
Ghana should adopt soil and water conservation (SWC) measures especially contour
farming (CF) for maize and cowpea production.
Description
A thesis submitted to the department of Agricultural Engineering in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Soil and Water Engineering.