Effects of tillage direction on sediment yield in the Chanchaga Basin

Abstract

Sediment yield changes the hydrological cycle of rivers and reduces dam water storage because of poor ridge direction. In light of this, the study aims to assess the effect of tillage direction on sediment yield. The experimental design was mixed factorial, with four treatments (groundnut, cowpea, soybean, and no crop) and three replicates planted on the ridge across and along the slope. Sediment data got for two years on the field (2018-2019). Sediment yield calculated using the Standard method. The data were analysed using ANCOVA at α=0.05. The ridge along the slope lost twice as much sediment as the across slope ridge. The ridge along the slope was statistically significant (p-value=0.024; p-value=0.027) in Koropa and Shatta. The average sediment yield increased from 28.91 to 72.80 t ha-1yr-1 at the Koropa, while annual soil deposits for ridge along the slope were 33.66 and 38.06 t ha-1yr-1 at the Shatta. The ridge that ran perpendicular to the slope produced different results. The irrational ridge had a strong effect on sediment yield than the across slope ridge because of intensive soil cultivation. Except for cowpea, the results showed that the ridge along the slope still produced high sediments under soybean and groundnut. The irrational ridge is the main cause of water pollution, soil infertility, river sedimentation, and water depletion in the dam. There is a need to ban ridge along the slope in the Chanchaga Basin.