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Short-Term Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Strength and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in the South African Semiarid Areas

Author

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  • Godwin Iloabuchi Nebo

    (Department of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa)

  • Alen Manyevere

    (Department of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa)

  • Tesfay Araya

    (Department of Agronomy, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa)

  • Johan van Tol

    (Department of Soil-and Crop-and Climate Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa)

Abstract

The severe limitation of agricultural land productivity induced by physical soil degradation has become a major concern in semiarid climates, especially in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A randomized complete block design in a split-split-plot arrangement was used to evaluate the short-term (2012–2015) effects of tillage (no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT)), rotation (maize-fallow-maize (MFM); maize-fallow-soybean (MFS); maize-wheat-maize (MWM) and maize-wheat-soybean (MWS)) and residue management (residue removal (R−) and residue retention (R+)) on bulk density (BD), penetration resistance (PR), soil hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and macroporosity hydraulic conductivity. The interaction of tillage × crop rotation × residue management was not significant ( p > 0.05) with respect to BD, PR, Ks and macroporosity. The MFM rotation had the highest BD (1.40 g cm −3 ), followed by MWM rotation (1.36 g cm −3 ), and the least BD was observed in the MFS rotation (1.29 g cm −3 ). Penetration resistance was significantly higher in CT (2.43 MPa) compared to NT (1.46 MPa). The study concludes that inclusion of MFS and MWS rotations can potentially reduce BD in the short term. Similarly, conversion from CT to NT reduces soil resistance.

Suggested Citation

  • Godwin Iloabuchi Nebo & Alen Manyevere & Tesfay Araya & Johan van Tol, 2020. "Short-Term Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Soil Strength and Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity in the South African Semiarid Areas," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-12, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:9:p:414-:d:415768
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karen Denisse Ordoñez-Morales & Martin Cadena-Zapata & Alejandro Zermeño-González & Santos Campos-Magaña, 2019. "Effect of Tillage Systems on Physical Properties of a Clay Loam Soil under Oats," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Patrick Nyambo & Chiduza Cornelius & Tesfay Araya, 2020. "Carbon Dioxide Fluxes and Carbon Stocks under Conservation Agricultural Practices in South Africa," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-13, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Luiz F. Pires & Talita R. Ferreira & Fábio A. M. Cássaro & Hannah V. Cooper & Sacha J. Mooney, 2022. "A Comparison of the Differences in Soil Structure under Long-Term Conservation Agriculture Relative to a Secondary Forest," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Shangyi Lou & Jin He & Hongwen Li & Qingjie Wang & Caiyun Lu & Wenzheng Liu & Peng Liu & Zhenguo Zhang & Hui Li, 2021. "Current Knowledge and Future Directions for Improving Subsoiling Quality and Reducing Energy Consumption in Conservation Fields," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, June.

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