Ridge–furrow with grass straw mulching farming system to boost rainfed wheat productivity and water use efficiency in semiarid Kenya

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 101; no. 7; pp. 3030 - 3040
• Main Authors: Wang, Jian‐Yong, Mo, Fei, Zhou, Hong, Kavagi, Levis, Nguluu, Simon N, Xiong, You‐Cai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.05.2021; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: Agricultural Irrigation; Crop Production - instrumentation; Crop Production - methods; Crop yield; Cultivars; Economics; Efficiency; environment‐friendly farming; Farming; Farming systems; Food security; Furrows; grass straw mulching; Grasses; Kenya; Low level; Moisture content; Mulching; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Organic soils; Plant Stems - chemistry; Plastics; Poaceae - chemistry; Polymer films; Productivity; Profitability; Rain; Rain water; Rainfall; ridge–furrow; Soil - chemistry; Soil properties; Soil quality; Soil water; Straw; Triticum - growth & development; Triticum - metabolism; Water - analysis; Water - metabolism; Water loss; Water use; Water use efficiency; Wheat; Kenya; grass straw mulching; wheat; environment-friendly farming; Kenya; ridge-furrow
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.10937

BACKGROUND Ridge–furrow mulching farming systems (RFMs) aim to increase field productivity and improve water use efficiency. To explore environment‐friendly and efficient farming systems is a central aspect of rainfed wheat field management in Kenya where rainfall utilization is at a low level. We introduced RFMs (including plastic film and grass straw mulching) to semiarid Kenya to evaluate the effects on field productivity, rainwater utilization, soil quality and economic profitability using old and modern wheat cultivars from 2012 to 2013. RESULTS Across the cultivars, the RFMs increased grain yield, aboveground biomass and water use efficiency by 74–163%, 36–104% and 89–273%, respectively, compared with conventional flat planting (control). RFMs significantly shortened the vegetative period while prolonging the reproductive period. The net economic output under RFMs was 74–165% higher than that of the control. Grass straw mulching achieved the highest economic output to input ratio, almost 45% higher than plastic film mulching, despite the former harvested only 82% of the maximum field productivity of the latter. Compared with the control, grass straw mulching promoted the contents of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and C:N ratio by 14%, 8% and 5%, respectively, while obviously decreased values of these parameters were observed under plastic mulching. CONCLUSIONS Through reducing soil water loss, and improving rainwater use efficiency and soil quality, ridge–furrow grass straw mulching would be a sustainable option for boosting field productivity and thus ensuring local food security in rainfed agricultural areas of Kenya. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry