ABSTRACT
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development addressing the issues of environmental degradation has been challenged by human developments and activities. Crop production systems and technologies (e.g. soil tillage) are among the leading factors causing environmental degradation. In this study, the effect of soil tillage systems (i.e. no-tillage (NT); stubble-mulching (SM); deep tillage (DT); and conventional tillage (CT)) on surface runoff volume (SRV), suspended sediment concentration (SSC), infiltration rate (IR), and soil moisture content (SMC) in the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) farms, Mukono District, Uganda was evaluated. The effect of soil tillage direction on SRV was also assessed. The SRV, SSC, IR, and SMC were monitored under Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD) experiments with four soil tillage systems in Goma and Kimenyedde experimental sites during two wet seasons. The results showed that SRV, SSC, IR, and SMC were significantly (p < 0.05) influenced by the soil tillage system, season, and site. The highest total SRV was observed during the first season in Goma experimental site under CT with soil tillage along the slope (1071.3 mm). The lowest SRV was observed during the second season in Kimenyedde experimental site under NT (165.0 mm). The highest and lowest mean SSC was observed in the CT (2.41 ± 0.3 g L-1) in Goma experimental site during the first season and NT (0.43 ± 0.1 g L-1) in Kimenyedde experimental site during the second season, respectively. The SSL was highest under CT in both Goma (147.17 kg ha-1season-1) and Kimenyedde (114.93 kg ha-1season-1), and lowest under NT with the means of 11.25 and 9.19 kg ha-1season-1 in Goma and Kimenyedde experimental sites, respectively. Both SRV and SSC increased linearly with both rainfall amount (RF) and rainfall intensity at 10 min (RI10). The highest and lowest IR and SMC were observed in the NT and CT treatments, respectively. No significant (p > 0.05) variations were observed in the SMC under the NT and SM treatments. Overall, soil tillage systems, soil type, and rainfall characteristics are among the key factors influencing the magnitudes of SRV and SSC in both time and space. This particular study suggests that NT and SM would help reduce the magnitudes of SRV and SSC, in agricultural fields.
ABSTRACT
O uso inadequado dos recursos hídricos na agricultura, em busca de elevadas produtividades, tem causado impactos negativos nas reservas de água, diminuindo a eficiência dos sistemas produtivos irrigados. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar o consumo de água por meio dos coeficientes de cultura para o feijoeiro irrigado por aspersão, nos diversos estádios de seu desenvolvimento, mais a produção de grãos e seus componentes, em sistema plantio direto e convencional. O manejo da irrigação foi realizado por tensiômetros, para manter o conteúdo de água no solo entre 28 (momento de irrigar) e 31 por cento (capacidade de campo). A evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc) foi determinada pelo balanço hídrico a campo, e a evapotranspiração de referência foi (ETo) calculada pelo método de Penman-Monteith, sendo utilizados os dados climáticos obtidos junto à Estação Meteorológica instalada na área experimental. Os resultados indicam que os coeficientes de cultura do feijoeiro nos estádios de florescimento e enchimento de grãos, em sistema plantio direto, apresentam os menores valores quando comparado ao sistema convencional. As plantas do feijoeiro no sistema plantio direto são mais eficientes no uso da água, pelo fato de apresentarem, nesse sistema, maior produtividade de grãos com menor consumo de água.
The inappropriate use of water resources in agriculture, to get higher yields, has caused negative impacts on soil water storage, reducing the efficiency of irrigated productive systems. The aim of this research was to study water use through crop coefficients for sprinkler-irrigated beans at different development stages, in addition to the production of grains and their components, in no tillage and tillage crop systems. Irrigation management was monitored with tensiometers to maintain the soil water content level between 28 percent (at the moment of irrigation) and 31 percent (field capacity). The crop evapotranspiration level (ETc) was obtained from the soil water balance and the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) using the Penman-Monteith method. The results indicate that bean crop coefficients show lower values in the no tillage system than in the conventional tillage system, during flowering and pod formation stages. The bean plants in no tillage system are more efficient in relation to water use than the conventional tillage system, because in this system, the bean crop shows higher grain yield with lower water consumption.
