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The objectives of the study were to determine the potential and effectiveness of rainwater harvesting and conservation techniques (RWH&CT) to conserve and improve plant available water (PAW) for dryland maize production and also determine the efficiency of the RWH&CT's to improve dryland maize yield and Rainwater Productivity (RWP) compared to conventional tillage (CON). The study was conducted over a period of two growing seasons (2008/09 and 2009/20) using maize as indicator crop at the Towoomba Research Station of the Limpopo Department of Agriculture of South Africa, on an Arcadia ecotope. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design, with four replications and five treatments. The five treatments used in the study were: CON, No-till (NT), In-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH), mechanized basins (MB) and Daling plough (DAL). The IRWH and DL ere classified as rainwater harvesting techniques (RWHT's), whilst MB and NT were classified as water conservation techniques. |
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